Clinical indicators and psychosocial aspects in peripheral arterial disease.

Hypothesis: Patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) often experience substantial impairment in health status and quality of life (QOL), but factors associated with these outcomes are unknown. We hypothesized that subjective pain symptoms in the legs and social support and stress (the degree to which situations are appraised as stressful) are associated with impaired health status and QOL.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study.