2020 Volume 35 Issue 5 Pages 685-688
[Purpose] This study determined the proportions of elderly certified for long-term care or support with ankle-brachial index (ABI) scores of 0.90 or below, and those with ABI scores of between 0.91 and 0.99, as well as disease factors. [Participants and Methods] The ABI of 130 elderly persons was measured using a blood pressure pulse-wave monitoring device (VaSera VS-2000) before their exercise therapy for ambulatory rehabilitation. [Results] In this study, 21.6% of the elderly had ABI scores of 0.90 or below, which indicates they had arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO). In addition, 13.8% had ABI scores between 0.91 and 0.99, which is within the borderline range. The proportion of those with ASO and those within the borderline range was 35.4%. However, there were no significant differences in the disease factors. [Conclusion] The result for the risk of lower limb obstructive atherosclerosis in the elderly requiring long-term care or support was higher than has previously been reported.
