A Case-Control Study of Risk Factors of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Objective: To explore the potential risk factors of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in the Chinese population. Methods: A matched case-control study was designed for the study. Patients with AAA administrated in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2005 to December 2007 were included in the study. Sex and age-matched volunteers were selected for the case-control in the same period. A uniform questionnaire was sent to patients and volunteers to collect demographic data, past medical history, and behavioral factors. General physical examination, ultrasound examination of the abdominal aorta, and serological testing were used to collect clinical data. Environmental risk factors of abdominal aortic aneurysms were analyzed by conditional logistic regression. Results: A total of 465 subjects including 155 patients were enrolled in the study. Multivariate regression analysis found that people with high blood pressure have high risk of AAA (OR = 1.88, 95% CI 1.12-3.18; P = .02). Smoking is a significant independent risk factor for AAA; the morbidity of AAA in smokers is 5.23-fold of non-smokers (95% CI 2.44-11.23). Dyslipidemia (OR = 2.61, 95% CI 1.45-4.70), serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein (OR = 2.43, 95% CI 1.37-4.31), and homocysteine (OR = 2.73, 95% CI 1.61-4.65) were valuable parameters in detecting AAA. Conclusion: Hypertension and smoking are risk factors of abdominal aortic aneurysms; dyslipidemia, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and homocysteine levels are associated with AAA.