Now, a new research suggests that the location of this additional weight determines the risk of dangerous blood clots in men and women, albeit differently.
Fat distribution alters risk of VTE
Apple-shaped men who carry a glut of fat primarily around the waist and pear-shaped women who mainly have accumulation of fat around the hips have the highest risk of developing blood clots like deep vein
thrombosis (DVT) also known as Venous thromboembolism (VTE), establishes the Danish study.
The study, conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr Marianne Tang Severinsen, a researcher in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology at Aarhus University Hospital in Aalborg in Denmark, was published online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association on Oct. 26.
Severinsen said of the findings, "The implications to the public are that all types of obesity increase the risk for VTE, but the location of body fat also plays some unknown role. For health professionals, the implication is that all types of fat distribution should be taken into account when evaluating risk for VTE."
More on the study
For the purpose of the study, researchers examined the relationship between body mass, weight distribution, and incidence of blood clots in veins among 27,178 men and 29,876 women.
All the participants were aged between 50- and 64-year-old at the time of the commencement of the study that spanned 10 years. During the course of the study, 641 VTE events occurred.
The study established a direct link between VTE and weight distribution in both genders. In case of men, waist circumference was positively associated with VTE while women with big hips and thighs were at higher risk of dangerous clots even if they had an ideal body weight.
“The BMI is a marker of excess weight and correlates well with body fat content in adults; however, it fails to consider the distribution of body fat,” said Severinsen.
The link was established even after other risk factors, such as smoking, height, hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, and, among women, the use of hormone replacement therapy, were controlled.
About VTE
VTE is a leading cause of death in adults. The condition occurs when a blood clot breaks free from one blood vessel and thwarts the flow of blood in another vessel. Typically, a VTE blood clot flows from a vein in the leg to the lungs.
There is a possibility that a DVT may occur without symptoms, however in most cases, the affected extremity is sore, enlarged, red, and warm. The superficial veins may also be engorged.
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