AALBORG, Denmark, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- For both men and women, the risk of blood clots is greater if they are obese, Danish researchers found.
Dr. Marianne Tang Severinsen of the Aarhus University Hospital in Aalborg, Denmark, said women with fat on their hips were at higher risk of blood clots, while for men the risk went up with weight around the waist.
The study, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, involved 27,178 men and 29,876 women, ages 50-64, who were monitored for body mass, weight distribution and venous thromboembolism -- blood clot -- incidence. During the 10-year study, 641 venous thromoembolisms were recorded.
The researchers found a statistically significant positive association between venous thromboembolism and all measurements of body size in both genders. Hip circumference was positively linked to venous thromboembolism in women, but not men. Waist size was positively linked to venous thromboembolism in men, not women.
"The implications to the public are that all types of obesity increase the risk for venous thromboembolism, but the location of body fat also plays some unknown role," Severinsen, the lead author, said in a statement.
"For health professionals, the implication is that all types of fat distribution should be taken into account when evaluating risk for venous thromboembolism."
