The association of dyslipoproteinemia with symptoms and signs of peripheral arterial disease. The Lipid Research Clinics Program Prevalence Study.

Intermittent claudication, leg pain during a graded exercise test (GXT), and resting systolic pressures in the upper and lower extremities were recorded as indicators of peripheral arterial disease at visit 2 of the Lipid Research Clinics (LRC) Prevalence Study. Systolic pressures of the upper and lower extremities were measured in a subsample of participants. We compared lipid levels of persons with and without claudication and with or without GXT-induced leg pain. We also compared lipid levels between groups with high and low arm:ankle systolic blood pressure ratios. Twenty-one (1.0%) men, 10 (1.0%) female nonusers and six (1.0%) female users of gonadal hormones had intermittent claudication determined by standardized questionnaire. Men with claudication had lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol (35.6 vs 46.4 mg/dl), and their mean triglyceride level and cigarette consumption were higher and regular exercise less frequent. Men with type IIb dyslipoproteinemia were more likely to report claudication. One hundred sixty-nine (4.0%) men, 101 (3.8%) female nonusers, and 47 (4.1%) female users of hormones stopped the GXT because of leg pain. Mean HDL-cholesterol levels were lower for those with GXT-induced leg pain in all three sex-hormone usage groups (42.0 vs 46.9, p less than .001; 53.9 vs 59.4, p less than .001; 65.3 vs 67.2, p = NS) and mean low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were higher in those with leg pain on GXT in two of three groups (146.4 vs 146.2, p = NS; 155.7 vs 144.6, p less than .01; 144.4 vs 133.5, p less than .05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)