Prevalence and risk factors associated with peripheral arterial disease in an adult population from Colombia

_Background:_ Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the most important cause of mortality in Latin America, while peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is the third leading cause of atherosclerotic cardiovascular morbidity. _Objective:_ To establish the prevalence of PAD and the distribution of traditional CVD risk factors in a population from the Department of Cauca, Colombia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 10,000 subjects aged ≥40 years, from 36 municipalities. An ankle -brachial index (ABI) ≤ 0.9 in either leg was used as diagnostic criterion of PAD. _Results:_ Overall PAD prevalence was 4.4% (4.7% females vs. 4.0% males), with diabetes being the most prevalent risk factor (23%). Among individuals self-reporting a history of acute myocardial infarction or stroke, PAD prevalence was 31.0% and 8.1%, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders, PAD was signif