More and more circulatory disorders in the legs

Circulatory disorders in the legs have increased significantly worldwide

08/01/2013

Peripheral arterial disease (PAOD) is a common side effect in diabetes and the third leading cause of death among cardiovascular diseases. Only coronary heart disease and a stroke lead to more death, says the research team led by Professor Gerald Fowkes of the University of Edinburgh in the journal „The Lancet“.

The scientists have calculated in an evaluation of existing studies, the worldwide spread of the disease of peripheral artery disease and come to the conclusion that „In the 21st century, peripheral vascular disease becomes a global problem“ has developed. The most common causes are smoking, diabetes, hypertension and elevated cholesterol.

Global spread of peripheral arterial disease calculated
The researchers use 34 previous studies with a total of 112,027 participants for their calculations on the global spread of PAD 34, in order to first determine the general disease risk. 9,347 subjects suffered from peripheral arterial disease. Based on the population statistics of the United Nations (UN) for the years 2000 to 2010, they then estimated the actual development of peripheral occlusive disease. For the first time deliver the current study also „a comparison of the prevalence of peripheral arterial occlusive disease between high-income, low-income, and middle-income countries“, Report Fowkes and colleagues.

More than 200 million people worldwide suffer from the PAD
According to the researchers, since 2000, the number of PAOD patients has increased from an estimated 164 million people to 202 million people in 2002. The researchers found that the majority of patients (69.7 percent) live in low-income countries, „of which 54.8 million in Southeast Asia and 45.9 million in the western Pacific region.“ In the past ten years, the incidence of low-income countries has risen by just under 29 percent, while the increase in the high-income countries has been much more moderate (around 13 percent), write Fowkes and colleagues. Here the researchers see the „Governments, non-governmental organizations and the private sector“ in the duty to develop strategies to minimize the social and economic consequences and for „optimal treatment and prevention of this disease“ to care…

Circulatory disorders in the legs with far-reaching consequences
The circulatory disorders in the PAD are made responsible for a variety of complaints, with the so-called diabetic foot syndrome and the smoker's leg are among the more well-known symptoms. Typical PAOD complaints are leg pain, fat legs and fat feet. The pain can be observed at the beginning of the disease only after prolonged exposure, but can also occur permanently in the further course of the disease. In the long term, PAD leads to a significantly higher risk of heart attack and stroke. (Fp)