@article {1184, title = {Serum albumin and risk of venous thromboembolism.}, journal = {Thromb Haemost}, volume = {104}, year = {2010}, month = {2010 Jul}, pages = {100-4}, abstract = {

The incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is increased in patients with albuminuria. However, whether a low serum albumin concentration is associated with increased risk of VTE has been a matter of controversy. We determined the association of serum albumin with VTE incidence in two large, prospective, population-based cohorts: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study (n = 15,300) and the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) (n = 5,400). Validated VTE occurrence (n = 462 in ARIC and n = 174 in CHS) was ascertained during follow-up. In both studies, after adjustment for age, sex, race, use of hormone replacement therapy, estimated glomerular filtration rate, history of cancer, and diabetes, serum albumin tended to be associated inversely with VTE. The adjusted hazard ratio per standard deviation lower albumin was 1.18 (95\% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08, 1.31) in ARIC and 1.10 (95\% CI = 0.94, 1.29) in CHS. The hazard ratio for albumin below (vs. above) the fifth percentile was 1.28 (95\% CI = 0.90, 1.84) in ARIC and 1.80 (95\% CI = 1.11, 2.93) in CHS. In conclusion, low serum albumin was a modest marker of increased VTE risk. The observed association likely does not reflect cause and effect, but rather that low serum albumin reflects a hyperinflammatory or hypercoagulable state. Whether this association has clinical relevance warrants further study.

}, keywords = {Aged, Biomarkers, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Incidence, Male, Middle Aged, Risk Factors, Serum Albumin, United States, Venous Thromboembolism}, issn = {2567-689X}, doi = {10.1160/TH09-12-0856}, author = {Folsom, Aaron R and Lutsey, Pamela L and Heckbert, Susan R and Cushman, Mary} } @article {1295, title = {Longer legs are associated with greater risk of incident venous thromboembolism independent of total body height. The Longitudinal Study of Thromboembolism Etiology (LITE).}, journal = {Thromb Haemost}, volume = {106}, year = {2011}, month = {2011 Jul}, pages = {113-20}, abstract = {

Several studies have reported that taller individuals are at greater risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). We hypothesised that longer leg length would be positively associated with incident VTE, and would explain the height association. LITE ascertained VTE in a prospective population-based sample of 21,860 individuals aged 45 and older. Leg length was measured as standing height minus torso length. Cox regression models were adjusted for age, race, sex, waist circumference, diabetes, and factor VIII. To evaluate whether leg length was associated with VTE risk independent of height, we standardised leg length and height per 1 standard deviation (SD), and then included them simultaneously in Cox regression models. A total of 641 incident VTE cases accrued over a median follow-up of 16 years. Participants in the highest quintile of leg length were at 59\% (95\% CI: 22\%-108\%) greater risk of VTE, relative to the lowest quintile. For height, risk was 45\% (12\%-88\%) greater for those in the highest quintile, compared to the lowest. When leg length and height were modelled simultaneously leg length remained associated with VTE risk (HR per 1 SD: 1.21 (1.04-1.40) while height was unrelated (HR per 1 SD: 1.00 (0.86-1.16). To conclude, participants with longer legs were at greater risk of incident VTE, and leg length explained the relation of height to VTE. It remains to be established whether this finding is due to greater venous surface area, a larger number of venous valves, or greater hydrostatic pressure among individuals with longer legs.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Anthropometry, Body Height, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Leg, Male, Middle Aged, Population Groups, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, United States, Venous Thromboembolism}, issn = {2567-689X}, doi = {10.1160/TH11-02-0100}, author = {Lutsey, Pamela L and Cushman, Mary and Heckbert, Susan R and Tang, Weihong and Folsom, Aaron R} } @article {1406, title = {Association of mild to moderate chronic kidney disease with venous thromboembolism: pooled analysis of five prospective general population cohorts.}, journal = {Circulation}, volume = {126}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Oct 16}, pages = {1964-71}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Recent findings suggest that chronic kidney disease (CKD) may be associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Given the high prevalence of mild-to-moderate CKD in the general population, in depth analysis of this association is warranted.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We pooled individual participant data from 5 community-based cohorts from Europe (second Nord-Tr{\o}ndelag Health Study [HUNT2], Prevention of Renal and Vascular End-stage Disease [PREVEND], and the Troms{\o} study) and the United States (Atherosclerosis Risks in Communities [ARIC] and Cardiovascular Health Study [CHS]) to assess the association of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), albuminuria, and CKD with objectively verified VTE. To estimate adjusted hazard ratios for VTE, categorical and continuous spline models were fit by using Cox regression with shared-frailty or random-effect meta-analysis. A total of 1178 VTE events occurred over 599 453 person-years follow-up. Relative to eGFR 100 mL/min per 1.73 m(2), hazard ratios for VTE were 1.29 (95\% confidence interval, 1.04-1.59) for eGFR 75, 1.31 (1.00-1.71) for eGFR 60, 1.82 (1.27-2.60) for eGFR 45, and 1.95 (1.26-3.01) for eGFR 30 mL/min per 1.73 m(2). In comparison with an albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) of 5.0 mg/g, the hazard ratios for VTE were 1.34 (1.04-1.72) for ACR 30 mg/g, 1.60 (1.08-2.36) for ACR 300 mg/g, and 1.92 (1.19-3.09) for ACR 1000 mg/g. There was no interaction between clinical categories of eGFR and ACR (P=0.20). The adjusted hazard ratio for CKD, defined as eGFR <60 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) or albuminuria >=30 mg/g, (versus no CKD) was 1.54 (95\% confidence interval, 1.15-2.06). Associations were consistent in subgroups according to age, sex, and comorbidities, and for unprovoked versus provoked VTE, as well.

CONCLUSIONS: Both eGFR and ACR are independently associated with increased risk of VTE in the general population, even across the normal eGFR and ACR ranges.

}, keywords = {Aged, Cohort Studies, Europe, Female, Humans, Incidence, Male, Middle Aged, Prevalence, Renal Insufficiency, Chronic, Risk Factors, Severity of Illness Index, Venous Thromboembolism}, issn = {1524-4539}, doi = {10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.112.113944}, author = {Mahmoodi, Bakhtawar K and Gansevoort, Ron T and N{\ae}ss, Inger Anne and Lutsey, Pamela L and Br{\ae}kkan, Sigrid K and Veeger, Nic J G M and Brodin, Ellen E and Meijer, Karina and Sang, Yingying and Matsushita, Kunihiro and Hallan, Stein I and Hammerstr{\o}m, Jens and Cannegieter, Suzanne C and Astor, Brad C and Coresh, Josef and Folsom, Aaron R and Hansen, John-Bjarne and Cushman, Mary} } @article {6240, title = {Racial and regional differences in venous thromboembolism in the United States in 3 cohorts.}, journal = {Circulation}, volume = {129}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Apr 08}, pages = {1502-9}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Blacks are thought to have a higher risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) than whites. However, prior studies are limited to administrative databases that lack specific information on VTE risk factors or have limited geographic scope.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We ascertained VTE from 3 prospective studies: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC), the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), and the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke study (REGARDS). We tested the association of race with VTE using Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for VTE risk factors. Over 438 090 person-years, 916 incident VTE events (302 in blacks) occurred in 51 149 individuals (17 318 blacks) who were followed up. In risk factor-adjusted models, blacks had a higher rate of VTE than whites in the CHS (hazard ratio, 1.81; 95\% confidence interval, 1.20-2.73) but not ARIC (hazard ratio, 1.21; 95\% confidence interval, 0.96-1.54). In REGARDS, there was a significant region-by-race interaction (P=0.01): Blacks in the Southeast had a significantly higher rate of VTE than blacks in the rest of the United States (hazard ratio, 1.63; 95\% confidence interval, 1.08-2.48) that was not seen in whites (hazard ratio, 0.83; 95\% confidence interval, 0.61-1.14).

CONCLUSIONS: The association of race with VTE differed in each cohort, which may reflect the different time periods of the studies or different regional rates of VTE. Further studies of environmental and genetic risk factors for VTE are needed to determine which underlie racial and perhaps regional differences in VTE.

}, keywords = {African Continental Ancestry Group, Aged, Cohort Studies, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Prevalence, Proportional Hazards Models, Prospective Studies, Residence Characteristics, Risk Factors, United States, Venous Thromboembolism}, issn = {1524-4539}, doi = {10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.113.006472}, author = {Zakai, Neil A and McClure, Leslie A and Judd, Suzanne E and Safford, Monika M and Folsom, Aaron R and Lutsey, Pamela L and Cushman, Mary} } @article {6235, title = {Troponin T, NT-proBNP, and venous thromboembolism: the Longitudinal Investigation of Thromboembolism Etiology (LITE).}, journal = {Vasc Med}, volume = {19}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Feb}, pages = {33-41}, abstract = {

Increased levels of plasma troponins and natriuretic peptides are markers of cardiac dysfunction associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Little information exists on cardiac dysfunction and occurrence of venous thromboembolism (VTE). In two prospective epidemiological cohorts, we tested the hypothesis that high-sensitivity troponin T (TnT) and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) are associated positively with VTE occurrence. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study and the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) measured plasma TnT and NT-proBNP in 13,719 men or women with no history of venous thrombosis, coronary heart disease, or heart failure and followed them for approximately 10 years for VTE occurrence (n = 348 VTEs). In both ARIC and CHS, TnT was associated positively with incidence of total VTE and provoked VTE, but not with unprovoked VTE: age, race, and sex-adjusted hazard ratios for total VTE in the pooled analysis were 1.00, 0.85, 1.36, 1.51, and 1.98 (p-trend <0.0001) across five categories of TnT. In contrast, the association of NT-proBNP with VTE was positive in ARIC (hazard ratios approximately 2.5-fold for the highest versus lowest NT-proBNP quintiles), but non-existent in CHS.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Atherosclerosis, Biomarkers, Female, Heart Failure, Humans, Incidence, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Natriuretic Peptide, Brain, Peptide Fragments, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, Troponin T, Venous Thromboembolism}, issn = {1477-0377}, doi = {10.1177/1358863X14520869}, author = {Folsom, Aaron R and Lutsey, Pamela L and Nambi, Vijay and deFilippi, Christopher R and Heckbert, Susan R and Cushman, Mary and Ballantyne, Christie M} } @article {6906, title = {Lifetime Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Two Cohort Studies.}, journal = {Am J Med}, volume = {129}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Mar}, pages = {339.e19-26}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Greater public awareness of venous thromboembolism may be an important next step for optimizing venous thromboembolism prevention and treatment. "Lifetime risk" is an easily interpretable way of presenting risk information. Therefore, we sought to calculate the lifetime risk of venous thromboembolism (deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) using data from 2 large, prospective cohort studies: the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) and the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.

METHODS: We followed participants aged 45-64 years in ARIC (n = 14,185) and >=65 in CHS (n = 5414) at baseline visits (1987-1989 in ARIC, 1989-1990 and 1992-1993 in CHS) for incident venous thromboembolism (n = 728 in ARIC through 2011 and n = 172 in CHS through 2001). We estimated lifetime risks and 95\% confidence intervals of incident venous thromboembolism using a modified Kaplan-Meier method, accounting for the competing risk of death from other causes.

RESULTS: At age 45 years, the remaining lifetime risk of venous thromboembolism in ARIC was 8.1\% (95\% confidence interval, 7.1-8.7). High-risk groups were African Americans (11.5\% lifetime risk), those with obesity (10.9\%), heterozygous for the factor V Leiden (17.1\%), or with sickle cell trait or disease (18.2\%). Lifetime risk estimates differed by cohort; these differences were explained by differences in time period of venous thromboembolism ascertainment.

CONCLUSIONS: At least 1 in 12 middle-aged adults will develop venous thromboembolism in their remaining lifetime. This estimate of lifetime risk may be useful to promote awareness of venous thromboembolism and guide decisions at both clinical and policy levels.

}, keywords = {African Continental Ancestry Group, Aged, Anemia, Sickle Cell, Cohort Studies, Factor V, Follow-Up Studies, Heterozygote, Humans, Kaplan-Meier Estimate, Middle Aged, Obesity, Risk, Sickle Cell Trait, United States, Venous Thromboembolism}, issn = {1555-7162}, doi = {10.1016/j.amjmed.2015.10.014}, author = {Bell, Elizabeth J and Lutsey, Pamela L and Basu, Saonli and Cushman, Mary and Heckbert, Susan R and Lloyd-Jones, Donald M and Folsom, Aaron R} }