Laterality and severity of peripheral vascular disease of males and females

Risk factors for arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO), a common manifestation of peripheral vascular disease (PVD), are similar to coronary artery disease risk factors. The purpose of this study was to examine 177 men (62.4 ± 10.5 years) and 131 women (61.4 ± 11.3 years) for ASO, using the postexercise test ankle pressure index (API) as an indirect measure of ASO severity scale. Bilateral PVD was twice as common as unilateral disease in both sexes. The API severity scores suggested that in both sexes unilateral disease was twice as severe as bilateral disease. However, PVD prevalence was greater in males. Those with ASO showed a greater prevalence of smoking and a similar prevalence of diabetes as the control subjects.