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AIM: Frailty is a common syndrome in the elderly and is linked to poor outcomes. Walking performance is one of the indicators of frailty and can be associated with peripheral vascular disease (PVD). The association between frailty and PVD is unclear. The present study investigates the association between frailty and PVD in the elderly. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out in a geriatric population of ≥65-year-old residents of Taichung, Taiwan, in June 2009. The association between frailty and subclinical PVD was analyzed using logistic regression with adjustments for PVD risk factors. RESULTS: The community-based study consisted of 1036 individuals (539 male and 497 female subjects) with a mean age of 74.2 ± 6.6 years. Frailty was found in 143 (13.8%), and subclinical PVD was identified in 74 (7.1%) individuals using the Ankle Brachial Index < 0.9 as a cut-off. Frail individuals were associated with an increased risk for subclinical PVD with an odd ratios (OR) of 3.168 (95% CI 1.803-5.566, P < 0.001). Individuals' diastolic blood pressure (OR 0.975, 95% CI 0.951-0.999, P = 0.038) and high-density cholesterol (OR 0.976, 95% CI: 0.956-0.996, P = 0.019) were independently associated with subclinical PVD. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty syndrome in the elderly is associated with subclinical peripheral arterial disease indicated using the Ankle Brachial Index. The association between frailty and PVD is independent of subject's age, blood pressure and serum lipoprotein level.
Lin et al. (Wed,) studied this question.