Coronary artery disease and abdominal aortic aneurysm growth

To determine whether coronary artery disease (CAD) is associated with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) growth, we performed a meta-analysis of currently available studies. Databases including MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched through October 2015 using PubMed and OVID. Search terms included enlargement, expansion, growth, or progression; rate or rates; and abdominal aortic aneurysm Studies considered for inclusion met the following criteria: the design was unrestricted; the study population was AAA patients with and without CAD; and outcomes included data regarding AAA growth. For each study, growth rates in both the CAD and non-CAD groups were used to generate standardized mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Of 664 potentially relevant publications screened initially, we identified 20 eligible studies including data on a total of 7238 AAA patients. A pooled analysis of all 20 studies demonstrated a statistically significant association of CAD with slower AAA growth rates (i.e. a significantly negative association of CAD with AAA growth) in the fixed-effect model (SMD, -0.06 [-0.0592]; 95% CI, -0.12 [-0.1157] to -0.00 [-0.0027]; p = 0.04). There was minimal between-study heterogeneity (p = 0.16) and a statistically non-significant association of CAD with slower AAA growth rates (i.e. a non-significantly negative association of CAD with AAA growth) in the pooled result from random-effects modeling (SMD, -0.06; 95% CI, -0.13 to 0.01; p = 0.12). In conclusion, CAD may be negatively associated with AAA growth.