Background: Data relating lipids to the angiographic presence and extent of atherosclerosis, as reported for the coronary circulation, are lacking for the peripheral site.
Methods and results: This study comprised 102 patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) referred for elective percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and 100 age-matched control subjects with normal coronary and peripheral angiograms. The presence of PAOD was defined as > or = 1 stenosis with > or = 50% narrowing, and the extent was defined as the total of > or = 50% lesions in the iliac, femoral, popliteal, and crural beds. The relation of lipids and nonlipid risk factors to the presence of PAOD was tested by stepwise logistic regression analysis; their relation to the extent of disease was analyzed by simple regression and stepwise discriminant analysis. The presence of PAOD was significantly and positively associated with LDL cholesterol (P = .0003), triglycerides (P = .0001), apolipoprotein B (P = .0073), and smoking (P = .005) and was significantly and negatively associated with HDL2 cholesterol (P = .0085) and apolipoprotein A-I (P = .021). In the logistic model, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, smoking, and systolic blood pressure were selected as independent predictors of PAOD presence. The extent of PAOD was significantly and negatively correlated with HDL3 cholesterol (P = .005), HDL cholesterol (P = .013), and apolipoprotein A-I (P = .021) and was significantly and positively associated with smoking and fasting blood glucose. Age, smoking, and blood glucose were selected by the discriminant analysis as independent predictors of the extent of PAOD.
Conclusions: From this large case-control study, it is concluded that the presence of PAOD is predicted by parameters of LDL, triglyceride, and HDL2 metabolism, whereas the extent of PAOD is related to HDL3 and nonlipid risk factors.