Abstract 17256: The Walking Impairment Questionnaire Stair-Climbing Score Predicts Mortality in Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease

Background: The Walking Impairment Questionnaire (WIQ) is a validated measure of patient-reported walking distance, walking speed, and stair climbing in men and women with lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD). We determined whether lower WIQ scores are associated with higher all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in individuals with PAD. Methods: Participants were 634 men and women with PAD identified from Chicago-area medical centers. Participants completed the WIQ at baseline and were followed for a median of 4.5 years. Cox proportional hazard models assessed the relationship between baseline WIQ scoring and mortality, adjusting for age, sex, race, ankle brachial index (ABI), body mass index (BMI), smoking history, and comorbidities. Mortality information was obtained from proxies, the Social Security Administration death database, and primary care providers. Results: 215 participants (33.9%) died during follow-up, including 55 deaths from (CVD). Adjusting for covariates, subj...