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An investigation of sickle cell trait, body mass index, and fitness in relation to venous thromboembolism among African American adults
Author(s) -
Nelson D. Alan,
Deuster Patricia A.,
O’Connor Francis G.,
Edgeworth Daniel B.,
Kurina Lianne M.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of thrombosis and haemostasis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.947
H-Index - 178
eISSN - 1538-7836
pISSN - 1538-7933
DOI - 10.1111/jth.15422
Subject(s) - body mass index , medicine , sickle cell trait , trait , index (typography) , african american , relation (database) , venous thromboembolism , demography , thrombosis , data mining , history , ethnology , disease , sociology , world wide web , computer science , programming language
Background The relationships of sickle cell trait (SCT), body mass index (BMI), and physical fitness to venous thromboembolism (VTE) in young adults have received little attention. Objectives To test for associations among SCT, BMI, fitness, and VTE. Patients/Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 48,316 SCT‐tested, African American individuals in the US Army during 2011–14. We used Cox proportional hazards models to compute adjusted hazards of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) associated with selected factors. Results Incidence rates of DVT and PE were 1.09 and 0.91 cases per 1000 person‐years, respectively. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) for DVT for men and women with SCT were 0.9 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.4–2.0; P = .711) and 1.51 (CI: 0.7–3.2; P = .274), respectively. aHRs for PE for SCT+ men and women were 1.1 (CI: 0.5–2.4; P = .773) and 1.2 (CI: 0.5–3.1; P = .650), respectively. Low physical fitness was associated with DVT and PE in women (DVT aHR =3.1; CI: 1.4–6.5; P = .004; PE aHR =4.6; CI: 2.1–9.9; P < .001) and DVT in men (aHR =2.2; CI: 1.0–4.6; P = .048). Recent weight gain of 1 or more BMI points was associated with DVT in men (aHR =1.8; CI: 1.1–2.8; P = .017). Conclusions We found no evidence of increased VTE risk associated with SCT in this population. However, lower fitness levels and BMI increases were so associated.