Baseline characteristics of the study population
| Variable | 0.4≤ABI<0.5 n=135 | 0.5≤ABI<0.7 n=907 | 0.7≤ABI<0.9 n=4078 | 0.9≤ABI<1.1 n=19 870 | 1.1≤ABI<1.3 n=7474 | 1.3≤ABI<3 n=2225 |
| Age (years) | 70.95 (9.39) | 70.03 (9.81) | 67.32 (10.50) | 65.94 (10.53) | 65.25 (10.24) | 68.27 (10.13) |
| Men | 73 (54.1%) | 581 (64.1%) | 2155 (52.8%) | 9814 (49.4%) | 4005 (53.6%) | 1252 (56.3%) |
| Smoking habit | 49 (36.3%) | 299 (33.0%) | 1104 (27.1%) | 4586 (23.1%) | 1567 (21.0%) | 398 (17.9%) |
| BMI (kg/m²) | 29.62 (5.42) | 29.76 (4.91) | 30.49 (5.12) | 30.37 (4.99) | 30.44 (4.93) | 30.39 (5.10) |
| SBP (mm Hg) | 141.23 (17.05) | 140.22 (17.48) | 137.83 (16.94) | 135.73 (15.41) | 135.90 (15.57) | 135.96 (16.23) |
| DBP (mm Hg) | 73.61 (9.97) | 75.37 (10.09) | 76.83 (9.81) | 77.16 (9.39) | 77.76 (9.45) | 76.56 (9.76) |
| Pulse pressure (mm Hg) | 67.62 (16.27) | 64.86 (16.76) | 61.00 (15.46) | 58.58 (14.08) | 58.14 (14.09) | 59.40 (14.63) |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 5.05 (1.02) | 5.02 (0.99) | 5.10 (1.02) | 5.07 (0.99) | 5.05 (0.96) | 4.97 (0.97) |
| LDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 2.98 (0.92) | 2.95 (0.86) | 2.99 (0.86) | 2.97 (0.85) | 2.95 (0.83) | 2.89 (0.85) |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.32 (0.43) | 1.33 (0.42) | 1.36 (0.43) | 1.37 (0.43) | 1.36 (0.42) | 1.39 (0.43) |
| Triglyceride (mmol/L) | 1.77 (0.91) | 1.75 (0.96) | 1.77 (1.15) | 1.73 (1.09) | 1.72 (1.10) | 1.65 (1.06) |
| HbA1c (%) | 7.35 (1.48) | 7.35 (1.62) | 7.28 (1.63) | 7.16 (1.56) | 7.15 (1.56) | 7.14 (1.46) |
| HbA1c (mmol/mol) | 56.88 (16.14) | 56.79 (17.75) | 56.07 (17.81) | 54.72 (17.05) | 54.63 (17.02) | 54.49 (15.95) |
| Glucose (mmol/L) | 8.25 (2.72) | 8.46 (2.80) | 8.50 (2.93) | 8.30 (2.74) | 8.33 (2.74) | 8.20 (2.64) |
| Diabetes duration (years) | 6.86 (5.37) | 6.61 (5.98) | 6.26 (6.19) | 5.66 (5.56) | 5.55 (5.51) | 6.00 (5.80) |
| Hypertension | 97 (71.9%) | 673 (74.2%) | 2949 (72.3%) | 13 310 (67.0%) | 4962 (66.4%) | 1563 (70.2%) |
| Atrial fibrillation | 9 (6.7%) | 61 (6.7%) | 263 (6.4%) | 876 (4.4%) | 306 (4.1%) | 158 (7.1%) |
| Heart failure | 7 (5.2%) | 28 (3.1%) | 140 (3.4%) | 436 (2.2%) | 150 (2.0%) | 80 (3.6%) |
| COPD | 29 (21.5%) | 151 (16.6%) | 474 (11.6%) | 1759 (8.9%) | 546 (7.3%) | 202 (9.1%) |
| Malignant neoplasms | 10 (7.4%) | 83 (9.2%) | 328 (8.0%) | 1572 (7.9%) | 585 (7.8%) | 165 (7.4%) |
| Complications of diabetes | ||||||
| Nephropathy | 19 (14.1%) | 83 (9.2%) | 262 (6.4%) | 1068 (5.4%) | 328 (4.4%) | 158 (7.1%) |
| Retinopathy | 9 (6.7%) | 35 (3.9%) | 99 (2.4%) | 357 (1.8%) | 128 (1.7%) | 54 (2.4%) |
| Neuropathy | 2 (1.5%) | 20 (2.2%) | 39 (1.0%) | 139 (0.7%) | 56 (0.7%) | 35 (1.6%) |
| Medication | ||||||
| Antidiabetic therapy | 113 (83.7%) | 759 (83.7%) | 3301 (80.9%) | 15 444 (77.7%) | 5873 (78.6%) | 1769 (79.5%) |
| Diuretics | 48 (35.6%) | 270 (29.8%) | 1085 (26.6%) | 4667 (23.5%) | 1650 (22.1%) | 524 (23.6%) |
| Beta blockers | 16 (11.9%) | 134 (14.8%) | 546 (13.4%) | 2483 (12.5%) | 875 (11.7%) | 271 (12.2%) |
| Calcium channel blockers | 36 (26.7%) | 220 (24.3%) | 746 (18.3%) | 3260 (16.4%) | 1225 (16.4%) | 404 (18.2%) |
| Agents acting on the renin–angiotensin system | 94 (69.6%) | 621 (68.5%) | 2549 (62.5%) | 11 293 (56.8%) | 4169 (55.8%) | 1320 (59.3%) |
| Other antihypertensives | 7 (5.2%) | 65 (7.2%) | 217 (5.3%) | 894 (4.5%) | 356 (4.8%) | 109 (4.9%) |
| Statins | 79 (58.5%) | 468 (51.6%) | 1890 (46.3%) | 8862 (44.6%) | 3307 (44.2%) | 912 (41.0%) |
| Other lipid-lowering agent | 16 (11.9%) | 69 (7.6%) | 255 (6.3%) | 1412 (7.1%) | 460 (6.2%) | 152 (6.8%) |
| Aspirin | 50 (37.0%) | 366 (40.4%) | 1329 (32.6%) | 5333 (26.8%) | 2007 (26.9%) | 631 (28.4%) |
Values are presented as mean (SD) or n (%).
ABI, ankle–brachial index; BMI, body mass index; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; n, number of participants; SBP, systolic blood pressure.