Objectives: to investigate the prevalence of intermittent claudication (IC) in an unselected population of nearly 20000 individuals between 40 and 69 years of age.
Design: epidemiologic investigation of residents in Nord-Trøndelag County, Norway.
Material and methods: between 1995 and 1997, all residents 20 years of age or older in Nord-Trøndelag County, Norway, were invited to attend the HUNT Study. A total of 19748 participants between 40 and 69 years of age responded to questions related to the symptoms of intermittent claudication. We estimated the prevalence of IC based on these questions.
Results: the age-adjusted prevalence of intermittent claudication in the total population was 1.1% for men and 1.2% for women. We found an increase in the prevalence of IC by age, however, no sex differences were observed.
Conclusion: the prevalence of intermittent claudication increased gradually by age. However, in contrast to previous reports, there was no difference by sex.