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BMI linked to risk for recurrent venous thromboembolism

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Venous thromboembolism may recur more often in patients with excess body weight, according to recent data.

Researchers from the Medical University of Vienna and Hanuschkrankenhaus in Vienna conducted a prospective cohort study on 1,107 patients with an average age of 49 years. Patients were categorized by weight: normal (BMI <25), overweight (BMI >25 and <30) and obese (BMI >30). Researchers followed the patients for 46 months after their first unprovoked venous thromboembolism.

The researchers reported 168 recurrent venous thromboembolism events (deep vein thrombosis, n=100; pulmonary embolism, n=68) during follow-up. Patients with recurrence had higher mean BMI, compared with those without recurrence (28.5 vs. 26.9; P=.01). The adjusted HR for each one-point increase in BMI was 1.044 (P<.001).

At four years, the probability of recurrence was 9.3% for normal weight, 16.7% for overweight and 17.5% for obese patients. After adjustments, the HR of recurrence was 1.3 for overweight (P=.20) and 1.6 for obese (P=.02) patients, compared with those of normal weight.

Arch Intern Med. 2008;168:1678-1683.