Evolution and degree of control of cardiovascular risk factors after 5 years of follow-up and their relationship with the incidence of peripheral arterial disease: ARTPER cohort.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Although cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) are well known, their degree of control is not optimal. The aim of this study is to assess the evolution and control of CVRFs after 5 years of monitoring a population-based cohort and their association with the incidence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

MATERIAL AND METHOD: Prospective cohort study recruited between 2006-2008. Second phase between 2011-2012. An ankle brachial index was determined for all participants in both phases. Demographic variables, CVRF and previous cardiovascular events, blood pressure, total cholesterol and its fractions (HDL, LDL), triglycerides, glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin levels in diabetic patients and the cardiovascular risk score according to the REGICOR table were recorded.

RESULTS: A total of 2,125 individuals were analyzed. We observed an increase in the prevalence of hypertension (HT) (15.4%), diabetes (DM) (8.2%) and hypercholesterolemia (20.4%), with no changes in obesity and smoking. The cardiovascular risk determined on the basis of the REGICOR table remained at around 5.5%. We observed an increased control of CVRF throughout the follow-up period, except in the case of DM and obesity. In the multivariate analysis, uncontrolled HT 2-folded the risk of onset of PAD (odds ratio [OR] 2.3; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.3-4.1), whereas smoking 5-folded this risk (OR 5.0; 95% CI 2.5-10.2).

CONCLUSIONS: Smoking and uncontrolled HT increase the risk of onset of PAD in this population. Despite the increase in drug treatments, the control of CVRFs continues to be suboptimal.