Clinical and genetic risk factors for venous thromboembolism in Chinese population

Abstract

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, carries significant mortality and morbidity. The most important and effective way to reduce VTE incidence is to identify the patients at risk and give necessary prevention. VTE is a multifactorial and complicated disorder. Major risk factors for VTE include surgery and trauma, acute medical illness, active cancer and pregnancy. Genetic factors increase susceptibility to the disease and are useful in predicting the development of VTE. Gene-gene and gene-environment interactions alter and magnify the clinical picture in this disorder. This brief review summarizes some selected clinical and genetic risk factors for VTE based on the current research in China.

ABO blood types associated with the risk of venous thromboembolism in Han Chinese people: A hospital-based study of 200,000 patients

“…Therefore, it can be deduced that some risk factors other than ABO blood types also contribute significantly to the development of VTE in Caucasians. It is already known that the genetic profile for hemostasis and thrombosis in Chinese people is quite different from that of Caucasians 8 , and it is likely that the genetic difference other than ABO blood types between Chinese and Caucasians contributes to the lower incidence of VTE in Chinese. Furthermore, environmental factors such as dietary habit may also contribute to the risk of VTE and cause the different incidence of VTE in different ethnic groups.…”

“…In particular, factor V Leiden and prothrombin G20210A are major risk factors of VTE in Caucasians, but are not detected in Chinese populations8. Therefore, it should be investigated whether ABO blood types are associated with the risk of VTE in Chinese people.…”

Suspected Pulmonary Thromboembolism and Deep Venous Thrombosis

“…It consists of two related clinical manifestations: Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) and deep venous thrombosis (DVT). [ 1 2 ] DVT of the lower extremities is believed to be the source of PTE in most patients, and the primary risk factor for recurrent PTE is the presence of residual proximal venous thrombosis. Postoperative PTE is more difficult to diagnose compared with a spontaneous PTE because clinical symptoms and signs suggestive of PTE can be explained by the effects of operations, such as incisional pain; hypovolemia; and atelectasis, or might be masked by analgesics, including epidural anesthetics.…”