Association between platelet distribution width and peripheral arterial disease in elderly patients.

The prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) increases with age. Platelet activation has been linked to PAD. Platelet distribution width (PDW) is a measure of platelet function. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between PAD and PDW in elderly patients. A total of 416 elderly patients in Fujian Provincial Hospital between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019 were enrolled. PAD was diagnosed when the ankle-brachial index (ABI) was below 0.9. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between PDW and PAD. ROC curves and AUC were used to assess the diagnostic value. Compared to patients without PAD, PDW was higher in patients with PAD (PAD vs. subjects without PAD, 13.19±2.24% vs. 11.52±1.39%, <0.001). PDW was associated with an increased OR of PAD (OR: 1.667, 95% CI: 1.462-1.901, <0.001). After adjusting for potential confounding factors, the OR changed to 1.821 (95% CI: 1.535-2.114, <0.001). This association appeared to be more prominent in females than males (females vs. males, OR: 2.294, 95% CI: 1.556-3.381 vs. OR: 1.695, 95% CI: 1.404-2.047, <0.001). The AUC area was 0.760 (95% CI: 0.682-0.837) for females and 0.689 (95% CI: 0.627-0.752) for males. Both cut-off values had high specificity (females vs. males, 95% vs. 100%). PDW was higher in elderly patients with PAD than in subjects without PAD, and the association between PDW and PAD persisted after adjusting for confounding factors.