Assessment of all-cause and cardiovascular death risk in Russian men with leg pain

Aim. To study the prevalence of intermittent claudication (IC) and assess the risk of cardiovascular and all-cause death In Russian men with IC according to 30-year follow-up.

Material and methods. The study used data obtained from representative samples of men examined inMoscow andSt. Petersburg (formerly known  as Leningrad) from 1975 to 1986. Response rate was 75%. The examination of men (n=10953) aged 35-70 years (mean age 48,8±6,6 years) was carried out according to a single protocol, which included a standard survey, biochemical profile test, measurement of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate, anthropometry and 12-lead electrocardiography. To determine IC, the original Rose questionnaire was used, according to which four categories of pain were identified. The first is the absence of pain (P0); the second — mixed pain, including not associated with exercise (P1); the third — atypical pain in calf muscles lasting >10 minutes of rest (P2); the fourth — typical IC (P3). The median follow-up was 21,9 years. In total, 7,893 people died, including 4220 people due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The KaplanMeier curves was used to assess the associations between IC categories and survival. The risk of death, including due to CVD, was assessed using Cox proportional hazard models.

Results. There were 38,8% of men with leg pain. The prevalence of IC in the studied sample was 1,0%, increasing with age from 0,4 to 2,3% in the older age group. As expected, individuals without leg pain live the longest. The years of life lost in persons with IC was 12. This parameter for cardiovascular deaths was 22,4 years. The contribution to survival not only of IC (P3), but also of atypical pain (P2) remains significant regardless of age. Moreover, the results of multivariate analysis showed that the contribution to mortality of P3 and P2 does not depend on increased blood pressure, smoking, ischemic and other electrocardiographic abnormalities, a history of myocardial infarction, which indicates the common etiology of lower limb and heart artery diseases. Similar data were obtained regarding cardiovascular mortality, however, the contribution of CI is more significant.

Conclusion. IC In Russian men aged 35-70 years is an independent predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular death.

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