Tall, obese people face blood clot risk
Tuesday May 3rd, 2011
Tall men who are also obese could be at increased risk of developing blood clots, according to a new analysis.
Researchers
at the University of Tromsø, Norway, believe that the risk of clotting
is raised because the blood has to be pumped a longer distance by the
calf-muscle pump, which may cause reduced flow in the legs.
Obesity also causes increased pressure in the abdomen, which may reduce the ability of the calf-muscle pump to return the blood from the legs.
It is already known that obesity is a risk factor for clots in deep veins and for pulmonary embolism, which together are known as venous thromboembolism - VTE.
The report, which is published in the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology: Journal of the American Heart Association, say they identified an increased risk after collecting height and obesity measures on 26,714 men and women aged between 25 and 97.
They were followed for a median of 12.5 years between 1994 and 2007, during which time 461 VTEs occurred.
The scientists discovered that compared with men under 5ft 7.7inches tall and normal-weight men whose body mass index was under 25kg/m2, the age-adjusted risk of VTE was:
- 5.28 times higher in obese and tall men;
- 2.57 times higher in normal-weight and tall men (at least 5 feet, 11.7 inches tall);
- 2.11 times higher in obese and short men.
It was also found that compared with women under 5ft 2.6 inches who were normal weight, the age-adjusted risk of VTE was:
- 2.77 times higher in obese and tall women;
- 1.83 times higher in obese and short women;
- Not increased in normal-weight and tall women (more than 5 feet, 6 inches).
The researchers had also discovered a correlation between clot risk and height in American men.
"We believe that we observed the increased risk in tall and normal-weight men, but not women, because most women do not get sufficiently tall," said Dr Sigrid Braekkan, senior study author and a researcher in the Haematological Research Group at the university.
"The risk may be present in very tall women, but there were too few to investigate this properly.
"Understanding and preventing VTE is important because even the first occurrence may be fatal. Obesity, in combination with other VTE risk factors, has been shown to substantially increase the risk, so we wanted to assess the combined effects of tall stature and obesity."
Dr Braekkan said doctors should consider people's height and weight when they assess their overall risk for dangerous clots.
"Since body height is not easy to modify, the most important thing is to stay slim, especially if you are tall," she added.
Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology: Journal of the American Heart Association April 28 2011
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