Lower limb arterial disease or Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is not mentioned as much as other well-known cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease or accidents cerebral vascular. But PAD nevertheless remains an important indicator of cardiovascular health in general. Unfortunately, many patients with PAD go undiagnosed. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of obliterating arteriopathy of the lower limbs and its associated factors in the Senegalese rural population.Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study carried out between November 6 and 11, 2019 in Widou Thiengoly a rural area of Senegal, in subjects aged 15 and over. The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to determine physical activity practice and sedentary behavior. Systolic pressure index (SPI) was measured as the ratio of ankle blood pressure (BP) to brachial BP (BBP). PAD was defined by an SPI less than 0.9 and mediacalcosis by an SPI greater than 1.3. A sedentary lifestyle was defined by the absence of daily physical activity or physical activity lasting less than 150 minutes per week. As for arterial hypertension, it was defined for a systolic BP ≥ 140mm Hg and/or ≥ 90mm Hg.Results: Subjects had a mean age of 45 ± 15.9 years and 41% were women. Cardiovascular risk factors were high blood pressure (43.3%), pre-obesity and obesity (12.2% and 3.3% respectively), and a sedentary lifestyle (26.7%). Approximately 6.7% of the subjects surveyed had PAD and 7.8% had mediacalcosis. PAD was more common in women 10.8% [95% CI: 1.04-12.75] compared to 3.8% [95% CI: 4.29-24.71] in men. However, mediacalcosis was more noted in men 11.3% compared to 2.7% of women. A statistically significant difference was noted between men and women (p = 0.004).In addition, PAD was more common in those under 50 years of age (22.7%) and in overweight subjects (9.1%).
Conclusion:Although it is an integral part of atheromatous diseases, PAD is still underdiagnosed in the Senegalese population. Strategies for prevention and management of risk factors such as hypertension and a sedentary lifestyle must be put in place to reduce its incidence in the population at risk.