Abstract
Background: Previous studies indicated that serum total bilirubin might play an important role in peripheral artery disease (PAD). However, the effects of different levels of serum total bilirubin (TBiL) on PAD development remain an uncertainty and had limited data in male participants. We aimed to examine the prevalence of PAD and TBiL among Chinese male adults with hypertension.Methods: A total of 5129 hypertension male subjects aged 27-93 years was included in the current study. The outcome was a peripheral arterial disease (PAD), defined as present when ABI of either sides was ≤ 0.90.Results: Of 5,129 hypertension male participants, 194 (3.78%) had PAD, and the median serum concentrations of TBiL were 14.10 μmol/L (interquartile range 11.00 to18.60 μmol/L). Compared to participants in Q2-Q3 of LgTBiL, there was a significantly increased risk of PAD for participants in both Q1 (OR,1.49; 95%CI: 1.04-2.14) and Q4 (OR,1.70; 95%CI: 1.16-2.48). After adjusting for potential confounders, a nonlinear U-shaped relationship was detected between TBiL and PAD, and calculated the inflection point was 1.08 (LgTBiL = 1.08, TBiL = 12.02 μmol/L). The ORs (95% CIs) were 0.11 (0.02, 0.83) on the left side of an inflection point and 5.26 (1.59, 17.38) on the right side of the inflection point, respectively. Similar results were found in various subgroups.Conclusions: This cross-sectional study had shown that there was a U-shaped curve for the risk of PAD with TBiL concentration in Chinese males with hypertension, with a turning point at 12.02 μmol/L.