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  • Review Article
  • Published:

Peripheral artery disease: epidemiology and global perspectives

Key Points

  • The ankle–brachial index is the most appropriate measure to use in describing the global distribution of peripheral artery disease (PAD)

  • Worldwide estimates indicate that the greatest numbers of patients with PAD are in Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions; many individuals are asymptomatic

  • A large proportion of symptomatic patients have atypical leg pain rather than intermittent claudication; patients without pain often have substantial functional impairment

  • Traditional cardiovascular risk factors (smoking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidaemia) and the ageing of the population are important determinants of PAD in all countries

  • In low-income and middle-income countries especially, environmental factors such as poverty, industrialization, and infection could affect the risk of developing PAD

  • PAD impairs quality of life and is associated with a greatly increased risk of major cardiovascular events and death; PAD is an important cause of amputation worldwide

Abstract

Global populations are undergoing a major epidemiological transition in which the burden of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases is shifting rapidly from high-income to low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is no exception, so that greater focus is now required on the prevention and management of this disease in less-advantaged countries. In this Review, we examine the epidemiology of PAD and, where feasible, take a global perspective. However, the dearth of publications in LMICs means an unavoidable over-reliance on studies in high-income countries. Research to date suggests that PAD might affect a greater proportion of women than men in LMICs. Although factors such as poverty, industrialization, and infection might conceivably influence the development of PAD in such settings, the ageing of the population and increase in traditional cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension, are likely to be the main driving forces.

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Figure 1: Measurement and calculation of ankle–brachial index (ABI) in diagnosing peripheral artery disease.
Figure 2: Classification of high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries.
Figure 3: Number of people with PAD in 2000 and 2010, grouped by age in HICs and LMICs24.
Figure 4: Risk factors for peripheral artery disease in HICs and LMICs.
Figure 5: Possible effects of industrialization and urbanization in low-income and middle-income countries on risk of peripheral artery disease.
Figure 6: Systematic review of all-cause mortality ratios in patients with asymptomatic or symptomatic PAD compared with individuals without PAD.
Figure 7: DALYs from peripheral artery disease per 100,000 population in world regions in 2010.

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Acknowledgements

F.J.I.F. is supported by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, or the US Department of Health and Human Services.

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F.J.I.F. researched data for the article. F.G.R.F., V.A., M.M.M., U.K.A.S., and M.H.C. discussed the content of the article, and F.G.R.F., V.A., and F.J.I.F. wrote the manuscript. All the authors reviewed/edited the article before submission.

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Correspondence to F. Gerry R. Fowkes.

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Fowkes, F., Aboyans, V., Fowkes, F. et al. Peripheral artery disease: epidemiology and global perspectives. Nat Rev Cardiol 14, 156–170 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2016.179

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