Abstract
The ankle pressure index (API) was measured in 77 outpatients by using the ultrasonic Doppler method and its clinical significance was evaluated. Of these 77 patients, 52 were men and 25 were women. Thirteen had pancreatic diabetes (due to chronic pancreatitis), 38 had primary diabetes (NIDDM) and 26 had diseases other than these two diseases. The values of API were compared to the values of vibratory sensation (measured by TM-31A), body fat (measured by BFT-2000) and other clinical data. The average API value of all the patients was 1.05±0.017 (M±SE), indicating no correlation to sex and age. It was significantly higher in pancreatic diabetes patients than in primary diabetes patients. However, there was no correlation between the duration period of diabetes and API in primary diabetes patients. The API was abnormal (<1.0) in 11 primary diabetes patients and 8 patients with the other diseases, i. e. 19 out of 77 cases (24.7%). A significant correlation was demonstrated between API and body fat, though no correlation was found between API and vibratory sensation, HbA1, serum cholesterol, or body weight. From this study, it is suggested that peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is not a characteristic complication of diabetes mellitus but a result of obesity. It is also noted that PVD is rare in patients with pancreatic diabetes.
