The effects of obesity on venous thromboembolism: A review

Abstract

Obesity has emerged as a global health issue that is associated with wide spectrum of disorders, including coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, stroke, and venous thromboembolism (VTE). VTE is one of the most common vascular disorders in the United States and Europe and is associated with significant mortality. Although the association between obesity and VTE appears to be moderate, obesity can interact with other environmental or genetic factors and pose a significantly greater risk of VTE among individuals who are obese and who are exposed simultaneously to several other risk factors for VTE. Therefore, identification of potential interactions between obesity and certain VTE risk factors might offer some critical points for VTE interventions and thus minimize VTE morbidity and mortality among patients who are obese. However, current obesity measurements have limitations and can introduce contradictory results in the outcome of obesity. To overcome these limitations, this review proposes several future directions and suggests some avenues for prevention of VTE associated with obesity as well.

Rivaroxaban versus warfarin treatment among morbidly obese patients with venous thromboembolism: Comparative effectiveness, safety, and costs

“…The risk is highest in the 6 to 12 months after stopping anticoagulant therapy. A specific explanation for the observed rate in the current study may be due to an increased risk of VTE in obese individuals [17,19]. In a cohort study of 1107 patients followed for 46 months after a first VTE and withdrawal of anticoagulant therapy, the frequency of recurrent VTE at 4 years was 9.3% among patients with a normal BMI and 17.5% among obese patients (BMI ≥30 kg/m 2 ) [3].…”

Trends of Obese and Morbidly Obese Patients in Same-Day Bilateral Total Knee Arthroplasty from 2009 to 2016

“…Conversely, this trend could be an ominous sign that DVTs have a higher potential to mobilize, as some studies have demonstrated obesity to be an independent risk factor for VTE. 34,35 As a result, this may be why we observed increasing trends of PEs in these studies. However, this notion remains largely unsubstantiated in the orthopaedic setting and highlights a potential avenue for future research.…”

Clinical and Laboratory Aspects of the Severity of Pulmonary Embolism in Elderly Patients versus Adult Patients A single centre study

“…We note that although the outright proportion of obese patients is lower, the mean Table 1 SUMMARY OF BASELINE CHARACTERISTICS BMI was about 28kg/m 2 which is consistent with overweight patients. The increase of BMI was associated in several studies with an increased risk of PE, some authors proposing that the vascular inflammatory state being one of the predisposing factors or insulin resistance [8][9].…”