Varicose Veins Linked to Increased Risk of Deep Venous Thrombosis

According to an observational study published in the journal JAMA, varicose veins may be a warning sign of a type of blood clot known as a deep venous thrombosis.

Chang et al found a significant association between varicose veins and DVT. The illustration shows how a varicose vein forms in a leg. Image credit: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute / Jmarchn / CC BY-SA 3.0.

“Varicose veins are common, with about 23% of U.S. adults having the condition, but they are rarely associated with serious health risks,” said China Medical University researcher Pei-Chun Chen and colleagues.

“Deep venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), and peripheral artery disease (PAD) are also vascular diseases but associated with serious systemic effects.”

“However, not much is known about the association between varicose veins and the incidence of these vascular diseases.”

For the study, Dr. Chen and co-authors used claims data from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance program.

“There were 212,984 patients (aged 20 years and older) in the varicose veins group and 212,984 in the control group of patients without varicose veins,” they said.

“Patients with varicose veins were enrolled from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2013, and followed up through 2014.”

The study found a significant association between varicose veins and DVT, and less clear potential associations with PE and PAD.

“In this retrospective cohort study that included 425?968 adults, the presence of varicose veins was associated with a significantly increased risk of incident DVT (hazard ratio – 5.30),” Dr. Chen and colleagues said.

“The findings for PE (hazard ratio – 1.73) and PAD (hazard ratio – 1.72) are less clear due to the potential for confounding.”

“Whether the association between varicose veins and DVT is causal or represents a common set of risk factors requires further research,” the authors said.

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Shyue-Luen Chang et al. 2018. Association of Varicose Veins With Incident Venous Thromboembolism and Peripheral Artery Disease. JAMA 319 (8): 807-817; doi: 10.1001/jama.2018.0246