Epidemiologic basis for the comorbidity of aortic aneurysm and atherosclerosis

Aortic aneurysm and atherosclerosis are characterized by high clinical heterogeneity. The uncertainty in their comorbidity evaluations may be related to polyetiology of these diseases and the presence of not only common but also specific risk factors, as well as the complex pathogenesis of these conditions. The aim of this review is to summarize information on the prevalence and risk factors of aortic aneurysm and atherosclerosis, explaining the possible mechanisms underlying the comorbidity of these pathologies. We conducted a search for scientific publications in Russian (eLIBRARY.RU) and international (PubMed) electronic libraries, prioritizing works published in the last 10 years. Aortic aneurysm and atherosclerosis exhibit an age-dependent pattern of prevalence. The high prevalence of atherosclerosis compared to aortic aneurysm, along with the approximately similar age ranges for the manifestation of these pathologies,is related to their comorbidity. Conversely, these diseases share some common risk factors, albeit with varying contributions to atherosclerosis and aortic aneurysm of different localizations. Type 2 diabetes mellitus and lipid metabolism profiles are examples of risk factors with multidirectional influences. To understand the reasons for the discordant estimates of comorbidity between aortic aneurysm and atherosclerosis from an epidemiological perspective, a comprehensive approach to patient characterization, including a detailed analysis of risk factors recorded in the analyzed groups, is essential.