Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine (Jun 2023)

Association of sex and cardiovascular risk factors with atherosclerosis distribution pattern in lower extremity peripheral artery disease

  • Oliver Baretella,
  • Laura Buser,
  • Claudine Andres,
  • Dario Häberli,
  • Armando Lenz,
  • Yvonne Döring,
  • Yvonne Döring,
  • Yvonne Döring,
  • Yvonne Döring,
  • Iris Baumgartner,
  • Marc Schindewolf

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2023.1004003
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10

Abstract

Read online

ObjectiveAtherosclerosis expression varies across not only coronary, cerebrovascular, and peripheral arteries but also within the peripheral vascular tree. The underlying pathomechanisms of distinct atherosclerosis phenotypes in lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD) is poorly understood. We investigated the association of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) and atherosclerosis distribution in a targeted approach analyzing symptomatic patients with isolated anatomic phenotypes of PAD.MethodsIn a cross-sectional analysis of consecutive patients undergoing first-time endovascular recanalization for symptomatic PAD, data of patients with isolated anatomic phenotypes of either proximal (iliac) or distal (infrageniculate) atherosclerosis segregation were extracted. We performed a multivariable logistic regression model with backward elimination to investigate the association of proximal and distal PAD with CVRFs.ResultsOf the 637 patients (29% females) with endovascular recanalization, 351 (55%) had proximal and 286 (45%) had distal atherosclerosis. Female sex [odds ratio (OR) 0.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.20–0.54, p = 0.01], active smoking (OR 0.16, 95% CI 0.09–0.28, p < 0.001), and former smoking (OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.20–0.57, p < 0.001) were associated with proximal disease. Diabetes mellitus (DM) (OR 3.25, 95% CI 1.93–5.46, p < 0.001), chronic kidney disease (CKD) (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.08–1.28, p < 0.001), and older age (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.06–1.61, p = 0.01) were associated with distal disease.ConclusionFemale sex, particularly in the context of smoking, is associated with clinically relevant, proximal atherosclerosis expression. Our additional findings that distal atherosclerosis expression is associated with DM, CKD, and older age suggest that PAD has at least two distinct atherosclerotic phenotypes with sex-specific and individual susceptibility to atherogenic risk factors.

Keywords