Table 1. Summary of eligibility criteria used in all RCTs.
| Eligibility criteria | No (%) of RCTs in which each eligibility criterion was applied |
|---|---|
| Patient characteristics | 6 (30) |
| Age | |
| <18 year | 4 (20) |
| >70 year | 1 (5) |
| Sex Female | 1 (5) |
| Women in menopausal status and those taking estrogen | 1 (5) |
| BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 | 1 (5) |
| Unstable medication use | 13 (65) |
| Comorbidity | 20 (100) |
| Cardiovascular | 17 (85) |
| Pulmonary | 8 (40) |
| Internal | 10 (50) |
| Orthopedic | 8 (40) |
| Neurologic | 5 (25) |
| Walking capacity | 14 (70) |
| Unable to walk on a treadmill at a speed of at least 3.2 km/h | 7 (35) |
| Gait abnormalities not due to peripheral arterial disease | 9 (45) |
| Maximum walking distance >1600 meter at baseline | 1 (5) |
| Maximum walking distance ≥ 500 meter at baseline | 1 (5) |
| Maximum pain-free walking distance <150 meter | 1 (5) |
| No functional limitation due to IC during treadmill test | 3 (15) |
| Other criteria | 11 (55) |
| Concurrent supervised exercise therapy | 4 (20) |
| No native speaker | 2 (10) |
| No insurance for supervised exercise therapy | 1 (5) |
| Invasive peripheral arterial disease treatment (preceding 6 months or planned) | 14 (70) |
| Substance abuse | 1 (5) |
| Not living independently | 2 (10) |
| Inability and/or unwillingness to exercise | 4 (20) |
| Inability to obtain ABI | 3 (15) |
| Rest leg pain | 4 (20) |
| Unstable intermittent claudication symptoms (preceding 3 months) | 1 (5) |
Abbreviations: BMI = body mass index