Tobacco.org

Smoking is an independent risk factor for VTE 

Smoking is an independent risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE) among middle-aged men and women, show results of a large prospective study.

However, “former smokers have the same risk for VTE as never smokers, indicating acute effects of smoking, and underscoring the potential benefits of smoking cessation,” write Marianne Severinsen (Aarhus University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark) and colleagues in the journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

To assess whether smoking is associated with VTE independently of established risk factors, Severinsen and team followed up 27,178 men and 29,875 women, aged 50 to 64 years, who were participating in the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health study.

During a median follow-up of 10.2 years, there were 617 verified VTE events in the Danish National Patient Registry. Of these, 58% were deep vein thrombosis and 42% were pulmonary embolism (PE). A further 24 PE events were identified by autopsy. . . .

“Our findings suggest a direct effect of heavy smoking on the risk for VTE,” remark Severinsen and co-authors. “These findings are biologically plausible because smoking increases the level of coagulation factors in the blood and it also promotes activation of the inflammatory system, both of which are found to be associated with venous thrombosis.”

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