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Thromb Haemost 2013; 109(03): 458-463
DOI: 10.1160/TH12-10-0743
Blood Coagulation, Fibrinolysis and Cellular Haemostasis
Schattauer GmbH

Familial risk of venous thromboembolism in first-, second- and third-degree relatives: a nationwide family study in Sweden

Bengt Zöller
1   Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University/Region Skåne, Malmö, Sweden
,
Henrik Ohlsson
1   Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University/Region Skåne, Malmö, Sweden
2   Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA
,
Jan Sundquist
1   Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University/Region Skåne, Malmö, Sweden
2   Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA
,
Kristina Sundquist
1   Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University/Region Skåne, Malmö, Sweden
› Author Affiliations Financial support: This work was supported by grants to Dr Bengt Zöller from the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation and Region Skåne (REGSKANE-124611), to Dr Kristina Sundquist from the Swedish Research Council (K2009–70X-15428–05–3; K2012–70X-15428–08–3), to Dr Jan Sundquist from the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (2007–1754) and the Swedish Freemasons Foundation as well as ALF funding from Region Skåne awarded to Jan Sundquist and Kristina Sundquist.
Further Information

Publication History

Received: 13 October 2012

Accepted after major revision: 21 January 2012

Publication Date:
29 November 2017 (online)

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Referred to by:

Family history of VTE: An easy tool to score the individual riskThromb Haemost 2013; 109(03): 361-362
DOI: 10.1160/TH13-01-0039

Corrected by:

Erratum to Zöller et al. “Familial risk of venous thromboembolism in first-, second- and third-degree relatives: a nationwide family study in Sweden” (Thromb Haemost 2013; 109: 458–463)Thromb Haemost 2013; 110(07): 204
DOI: 10.1160/TH2013070001

Summary

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) clusters in families, but the familial risk of VTE has only been determined in first-degree relatives. This nationwide study aimed to determine the familial risk of VTE in first-, second- and third-degree relatives of affected individuals. The Swedish Multi-Generation Register was linked to Hospital Discharge Register data for the period 1987–2009. This was a case-cohort study. Odds ratios (ORs) for VTE were calculated for individuals whose relatives were hospitalised for VTE, as determined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), and those whose relatives were unaffected by VTE. The familial OR for VTE was 2.49 in siblings (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.40–2.58), 2.65 in children (2.50–2.80), 2.09 in parents (2.03–2.15), 1.52 in maternal half-siblings (1.26–1.85), 2.34 in paternal half-siblings (2.00–2.73), 1.69 in nieces/nephews (1.57–1.82), 1.47 in cousins (1.33–1.64), and 1.14 in spouses of individuals diagnosed with VTE (1.09–1.18). Familial clustering was stronger at young ages. The familial transmission was slightly stronger for males compared with females but was only significant for siblings 1.13 (1.05–1.22) and parents 1.11 (1.05–1.78) of probands. The present data showing an increased VTE risk among not only first-degree relatives but also second- and third-degree relatives indicate that the genetic component of the familial clustering of VTE is strong. Family history is a potentially useful genetic surrogate marker for clinical VTE risk assessment, even in second- and third degree-relatives.

Keywords

Thrombophilia - deep venous thrombosis - risk factors - thrombosis - epidemiological studies
 

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