AJM theme issue: Obesity and diabetesClinical research studyObesity as a risk factor in venous thromboembolism
Section snippets
Data sources
The number of patients discharged from hospitals with a diagnostic code of obesity between 1979 and 1999 was obtained from the NHDS.13 Among these patients the number with pulmonary embolism or deep venous thrombosis was determined.
The NHDS consists of data obtained annually from 181 000 to 307 000 sampled patient abstracts from 400 to 494 non-Federal short-stay hospitals in 50 states and the District of Columbia.13 The NHDS samples approximately 8% of short-stay non-Federal hospitals and
Results
The proportion of hospitalized patients diagnosed with obesity ranged from 1.4% to 2.4% over the 21-year period of observation. Among hospitalized patients diagnosed with obesity, 91 000 of 12 015 000 (0.76%) had pulmonary embolism. Among hospitalized patients who were not diagnosed with obesity, pulmonary embolism was diagnosed in 2 366 000 of 691 000 000 (0.34%). Deep venous thrombosis was diagnosed in 243 000 of 12 015 000 patients (2.02%) diagnosed with obesity and in 5 524 000 of 691 000 000 patients
Discussion
These data show that obesity is a risk factor for pulmonary embolism and deep venous thrombosis in men as well as women. Obesity seems to be a stronger risk factor in women and in men and in women less than 40 years of age.
An advantage of the NHDS database is its extensive coverage of all races, ages, and regions of the United States. A disadvantage is that the basis for the diagnosis of obesity was not defined. Even so, the proportion of hospitalized patients diagnosed with obesity was within
Acknowledgment
Julia Sanchez, MD, and Tehmina Siddiqui, MD, assisted with this investigation.
References (16)
- et al.
Risk factors for pulmonary embolism. The Framingham Study
Am J Med.
(1983) The relation of obesity to fatal postoperative pulmonary embolism
Arch Surg.
(1927)- et al.
The epidemiology of venous thromboembolism in the community
Thromb Haemost.
(2001) - et al.
A population-based perspective of the hospital incidence and case-fatality rates of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. The Worcester DVT Study
Arch Intern Med.
(1991) - et al.
The prevalence of risk factors for venous thromboembolism among hospital patients
Arch Intern Med.
(1992) - et al.
Prevalence of overweight and obesity among US children, adolescents, and adults, 1999-2002
JAMA
(2004) - et al.
A prospective study of risk factors for pulmonary embolism in women
JAMA
(1997) - et al.
Obesityrisk of venous thrombosis and the interaction with coagulation factor levels and oral contraceptive use
Thromb Haemost.
(2003)
Cited by (468)
Ability of Caprini and Padua risk-assessment models to predict venous thromboembolism in a nationwide Veterans Affairs study
2024, Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic DisordersChanges in fibrin clot properties in patients after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery
2024, Research and Practice in Thrombosis and HaemostasisAdiposity and Coagulation: Predicting Postinjury Coagulation With Advanced Imaging Analysis
2023, Journal of Surgical ResearchAnesthetic challenges of pregnant obesity women
2023, Best Practice and Research: Clinical Obstetrics and GynaecologyUse of direct oral anticoagulants for venous thromboembolism treatment at extremes of body weight, renal and liver function: an illustrated review
2023, Research and Practice in Thrombosis and HaemostasisDo sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass have different venous thromboembolism risk factors? Creation of 30-day Bariatric Hypercoagulation Score
2023, Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases