Comorbidities Associated with Large Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms.

BACKGROUND:  Abdominal aortic aneurysm has become increasingly important owing to demographic changes. Some other diseases, for example, cholecystolithiasis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and hernias, seem to co-occur with abdominal aortic aneurysm. The aim of this retrospective analysis was to identify new comorbidities associated with abdominal aortic aneurysm.

METHODS:  We compared 100 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms and 100 control patients. Their preoperative computed tomographic scans were examined by two investigators independently, for the presence of hernias, diverticulosis, and cholecystolithiasis. Medical records were also reviewed. Statistical analysis was performed using univariate analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS:  The aneurysm group had a higher frequency of diverticulosis ( p  = 0.008). There was no significant difference in the occurrence of hernia ( p  = 0.073) or cholecystolithiasis ( p  = 1.00). Aneurysm patients had a significantly higher American Society of Anesthesiology score (2.84 vs. 2.63; p  = 0.015) and were more likely to have coronary artery disease ( p  < 0.001), congestive heart failure ( p  < 0.001), or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( p  < 0.001). Aneurysm patients were more likely to be former ( p  = 0.034) or current ( p  = 0.006) smokers and had a significantly higher number of pack years ( p  < 0.001). Aneurysm patients also had a significantly poorer lung function. In multivariate analysis, the following factors were associated with aneurysms: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (odds ratio, OR = 12.24; p  = 0.002), current smoking (OR = 4.14; p  = 0.002), and coronary artery disease (OR = 2.60; p  = 0.020).

CONCLUSIONS:  Our comprehensive analysis identified several comorbidities associated with abdominal aortic aneurysms. These results could help to recognize aneurysms earlier by targeting individuals with these comorbidities for screening.