Table 3.
Adjusted Associations of Calf Muscle Characteristics, Functional Performance, and Quality of Life Between Always Asymptomatic Participants With PAD and Sedentary Always Asymptomatic Participants Without PAD*
| Always Asymptomatic PAD Participants† (n=57) | Always Asymptomatic Non-PAD Participants† (n=57) | P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calf muscle area, mm2 | 5061 | 5895 | 0.0095 |
| Calf muscle fat, % | 15.61 | 9.07 | 0.022 |
| Calf muscle density, g/cm3 | 31.08 | 33.95 | <0.001 |
| Six-minute walk, ft | 1126 | 1452 | <0.001 |
| Usual-paced 4-m walking speed, m/s | 0.84 | 0.94 | 0.010 |
| Fastest-paced 4-m walking speed, m/s | 1.08 | 1.29 | <0.001 |
| Caltrac-measured physical activity over 7 d, activity units | 655 | 1034 | 0.004 |
| Short-form 36 physical functioning score (0–100 scale) | 53.38 | 63.90 | 0.079 |
| WQ distance score (0–100 scale) | 59.40 | 75.10 | 0.019 |
| WQ speed score (0–100 scale) | 40.87 | 57.78 | 0.0011 |
| WQ stair climbing score (0–100 scale) | 45.82 | 68.22 | 0.0002 |
Always asymptomatic PAD participants and sedentary always asymptomatic non-PAD participants were matched for physical activity by patient-reported blocks walked during the previous week. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, race, comorbidities, smoking, recruitment cohort, and blocks walked during the past week (except for the Caltrac outcome).
Always asymptomatic non-PAD participants are matched by age and physical activity (blocks walked in the past week) to the always asymptomatic PAD participants. Random selection was used to ensure matched distributions of age and activity. Matches were identified for 57 of the always asymptomatic PAD participants