Metabolic syndrome exacerbating ankle-brachial index in asian type 2 diabetic patients.

The aim was to assess the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and ankle-brachial index (ABI) in Asians with or without diabetes. In this cross-sectional study, the components of MetS, lipid profiles, and ABI were assessed. A total 441 participants were enrolled, and the ABI was significantly lower (1.09 +/- 0.10 vs 1.12 +/- 0.13, P = .015) in participants with MetS (n = 269) as compared with those without MetS (n = 172). To dissect the influence of diabetes, these 2 groups were further categorized according to either diabetes or not. Ankle-brachial index was highest in participants with neither MetS nor diabetes and lowest in those with both MetS and diabetes (P value for trend <.001). Metabolic syndrome is also an independent risk factor for low ABI in participants with diabetes (P = .018). Thus, MetS is usually associated with lower ABI, most obvious in diabetic participants.