Black Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease Have Worse Outcomes

TUESDAY, July 18, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- There are significant racial disparities in the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of peripheral artery disease (PAD), according to a study recently published in Advances in Therapy.

Keith C. Ferdinand, M.D., from the Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, and colleagues compared rates of diagnostic testing, treatment patterns, and outcomes after diagnosis of PAD among commercially insured Black and White patients in the United States. The analysis included 669,939 patients with PAD identified from the Optum deidentified Clinformatics Data Mart Database (January 2016 to June 2021).

The researchers found that prevalence of diagnostic testing, revascularization procedures, and medication use was more common among Black patients. Additionally, Black patients were also more likely to receive medical therapy without a revascularization procedure versus White patients (adjusted odds ratio, 1.47). Incidence of major adverse limb events (MALE) and cardiovascular events (CV) were higher among Black patients with PAD than White patients (adjusted hazard ratio for composite event, 1.13). Risk for individual components of MALE and CV events were also significantly higher among Black patients with PAD, with the exception of myocardial infarction.

"Results of this real-world study suggest that Black patients with PAD have higher disease severity at the time of diagnosis and are at increased risk of experiencing adverse outcomes following diagnosis," the authors write.

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