DOI: 10.11648/j.ccr.20261003.12 ISSN: 2578-8914

Ankle–Brachial Index Screening for Peripheral Artery Disease in Diabetic Patients: A Hospital-Based Study in Senegal

Ngone Gaye, Joseph Mingou, Moussa Ndiaye, Malick Ndiaye, Marguerite Diouf, Lamine Ly, Seydina Gueye, Mamadou Thiam, Alassane Mbaye, Abdoul Kane, Aliou Ngaide
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Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a manifestation of systemic atherosclerosis associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and diabetes mellitus is one of its most important risk factors; however, a large proportion of patients remain asymptomatic and undiagnosed, and the ankle–brachial index (ABI) is a simple, non-invasive and reliable method recommended for its screening. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of PAD in diabetic patients using ABI and to evaluate its association with cardiovascular risk factors in a hospital setting in Senegal. We conducted a prospective cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study from September 2021 to October 2022 in the cardiology and internal medicine departments of the Idrissa Pouye General Hospital; adult diabetic patients aged ≥18 years were included, and sociodemographic characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors, clinical findings and laboratory data were collected. ABI was measured using a handheld Doppler device, PAD was defined as ABI < 0.9, and associations between PAD and cardiovascular risk factors were evaluated using appropriate statistical tests with a significance level of p < 0.05. A total of 100 patients with diabetes were included; the mean age was 60.6 ± 11.7 years, 57% were women, and the median duration of diabetes was 8 years. The most frequent cardiovascular risk factors were hypertension (64%), physical inactivity (58%), dyslipidemia (27%), smoking (19%) and obesity (11.9%); intermittent claudication was reported by 18% of patients, while erectile dysfunction was observed in 67.4% of men (29 of 43). The prevalence of lower extremity PAD, defined by an ABI < 0.9, was 17%; most cases were well compensated (70.6%), while 23.5% were poorly compensated and 5.9% had severe hemodynamic impairment. PAD was more frequent in patients older than 60 years, although this association was not statistically significant, whereas smoking (p = 0.04) and dyslipidemia (p = 0.03) were significantly associated with PAD. In conclusion, lower extremity PAD was relatively frequent among patients with diabetes in this hospital-based Senegalese population and was often clinically under-recognized; these findings support the integration of ABI measurement into the routine cardiovascular assessment of patients with diabetes, particularly in those with additional risk factors, to improve early detection and prevention of vascular complications.

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