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Thromb Haemost 2010; 104(01): 100-104
DOI: 10.1160/TH09-12-0856
Blood Coagulation, Fibrinolysis and Cellular Haemostasis
Schattauer GmbH

Serum albumin and risk of venous thromboembolism

Aaron R. Folsom
1   Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
,
Pamela L. Lutsey
1   Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
,
Susan R. Heckbert
2   Department of Epidemiology, Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
,
Mary Cushman
3   Department of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA, and Department of Pathology, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
› Author Affiliations Financial support: This LITE study was funded by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) grant R01 HL59367. The ARIC study is carried out as a collaborative study supported by NHLBI contracts N01-HC-55015, N01-HC-55016, N01-HC-55018, N01-HC-55019, N01-HC-55020, N01-HC-55021, and N01-HC-55022. CHS was funded by NHLBI contracts N01-HC-85079 through N01-HC-85086, N01-HC-35129, N01 HC-15103, N01 HC-55222, N01-HC-75150, N01-HC-45133, NHLBI grant U01 HL080295, with additional contribution from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. A full list of participating CHS investigators and institutions can be found at www.chs-nhlbi.org.
Further Information

Publication History

Received: 22 December 2009

Accepted after major revision: 26 February 2010

Publication Date:
23 November 2017 (online)

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Summary

The incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is increased in patients with albuminuria. However, whether a low serum albumin concentration is associated with increased risk of VTE has been a matter of controversy. We determined the association of serum albumin with VTE incidence in two large, prospective, population-based cohorts: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study (n = 15,300) and the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) (n = 5,400). Validated VTE occurrence (n = 462 in ARIC and n = 174 in CHS) was ascertained during follow-up. In both studies, after adjustment for age, sex, race, use of hormone replacement therapy, estimated glomerular filtration rate, history of cancer, and diabetes, serum albumin tended to be associated inversely with VTE. The adjusted hazard ratio per standard deviation lower albumin was 1.18 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08, 1.31) in ARIC and 1.10 (95% CI = 0.94, 1.29) in CHS. The hazard ratio for albumin below (vs. above) the fifth percentile was 1.28 (95% CI = 0.90, 1.84) in ARIC and 1.80 (95% CI = 1.11, 2.93) in CHS. In conclusion, low serum albumin was a modest marker of increased VTE risk. The observed association likely does not reflect cause and effect, but rather that low serum albumin reflects a hyperinflammatory or hypercoagulable state. Whether this association has clinical relevance warrants further study.

Keywords

Albumin - prospective study - pulmonary embolism - venous thrombosis
 

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