Distribution Pattern of Atherosclerosis in the Abdomen and Lower Extremities and Its Association with Clinical and Hematological Factors

Abdominal arteries differ from the arteries located at the extremities in histological composition and clinical features. This study investigated the distributional pattern of atherosclerosis in arteries of the abdomen and lower extremities and its association with clinical and hematologic factors. This retrospective study included 227 patients with atherosclerosis who underwent computed tomography angiography (CTA) of the abdomen and lower extremities. The distributional pattern of atherosclerosis was categorized into type 1 (suprainguinal elastic), type 2 (infrainguinal muscular), and type 3 (both arterial involvement). Chi-square tests, Mann-Whitney U-tests, and logistic regression analysis were used to investigate the data. Of the 227 patients, 132 (58%) had type 1 and 95 (42%) had type 3 atherosclerosis. None had type 2. Older age, heavier smoking, and higher levels of HbA1c and homocysteine were the significant risk factors for type 3 atherosclerosis (odds ratio: 1.076, 1.023, 1.426, and 1.130, respectively). Patients with type 3 showed significantly lower right and left ankle and toe brachial indices compared to type 1 ( : 0.029, 0.023, 0.003, and