Risk of peripheral artery disease according to race and sex: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.

Abstract Background and aims Previous community-based studies have demonstrated sex and race-based disparities in the risk of cardiovascular disease. We sought to examine the association of sex and race with incident peripheral artery disease (PAD) and critical limb ischemia (CLI) related hospitalizations. Methods In 13,451 Black and White ARIC participants without prevalent PAD at baseline (1987-89), we estimated the cumulative incidence of PAD- and CLI-related hospitalization over a median follow-up of 26 years. We quantified hazard ratios (HRs) using Cox models across four sex- and race-groups. PAD and CLI were defined by hospitalization discharge codes. Results The cumulative incidence of PAD-related hospitalization was higher in males than females in Whites (5.1% vs. 2.7%; p Conclusions These data suggest that there are both sex- and race-specific patterns of PAD-related hospitalization that lead to differences in clinical disease risk and presentation.