Undetected Peripheral Arterial Disease Among Older Adults With Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias.

Background: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) was reported to increase the risk of dementia(s) even more than stroke. We assessed the prevalence of PAD in a group with definite diagnosis of dementia.

Methods: Patients aged 65 years or older with Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), or AD-VaD were enrolled (n = 162, mean age: 78.87 [6.05] years). An age- and gender-matched control group was also included (n = 190). Peripheral arterial disease was diagnosed by the ankle-brachial index.

Results: Frequency of PAD among patients with and without dementia was 35.2% and 16.3%, respectively ( P < .001), being similar among different types of dementia. After adjustment for covariates, dementia (odds ratio: 2.41, 95% confidence interval: 1.34-4.32; P = .003) was among the predictors of PAD diagnosis along with older age, female gender, and diabetes.

Conclusions: The prevalence of PAD was more than double in patients with dementia, with no difference among AD, VaD, and AD-VaD types.