Prevalence of low ankle brachial index and its association with pulse pressure in an elderly Chinese population: a cross-sectional study

We investigated the prevalence of low ankle brachial index (ABI) and the association of low ABI with pulse pressure among elderly community residents in China. This population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Beijing and recruited 2982 participants who were aged 60 years or older in 2007. Low ABI was defined as an ABI value less than 0.9 in either leg. Participants with or without stroke or coronary heart disease (CHD) were analyzed separately. The association between pulse pressure and low ABI was examined by using multiple logistic regression models. The prevalence of low ABI was 5.65% (4.24% among men and 6.52% among women; P = 0.0221) among participants without stroke or CHD and 10.91% (13.07% among men and 9.49% among women; P = 0.1328) among those with stroke or CHD. After adjusting for confounders, the odds ratio (95% CI) for each 5-mm Hg increase in pulse pressure was 1.19 (1.07, 1.33) and 1.10 (1.02, 1.20) for men and women, respectively, among participants without stroke or CHD and 1.17 (1.03, 1.34) and 1.15 (1.02, 1.30) for men and women with stroke or CHD. When pulse pressure was classified into quartiles and the lowest quartile was used as reference, the association between pulse pressure and low ABI remained positive in men and women. Low ABI was prevalent among elderly Chinese, and pulse pressure was positively associated with low ABI.