Alcohol Consumption and Risk for Venous Thromboembolism: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies - PubMed (original) (raw)

Alcohol Consumption and Risk for Venous Thromboembolism: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies

Mengyan Chen et al. Front Nutr. 2020.

Abstract

The association between alcohol consumption and venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk has been investigated by various observational studies with inconsistent results. We examined this association by performing a meta-analysis of prospective studies. A comprehensive literature search was carried out in the PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science from its inception to February 2020. Pooled effect estimates were calculated using a random effect model. Ten prospective studies (14 cohorts) were included in this meta-analysis with a total of 441,128 individuals and 10,221 VTE cases. Overall, the highest consumption of alcohol was not associated with the VTE risk compared with the lowest group [relative risk (RR), 0.96 (95% CI, 0.89-1.04), P = 0.293]. No obvious heterogeneity of RRs was observed across these studies (P = 0.249 for heterogeneity, I 2 = 18.8%). Egger's and Begg's tests showed no evidence of publication bias (Egger, P = 0.443; Begg, P = 0.730). In the subgroup analysis by sex, a borderline significant association between alcohol consumption and VTE risk was observed in women [RR, 0.91 (95% CI, 0.82-1.00)]. In the dose-response analysis, we observed a linear decrease in VTE risk with increasing alcohol intake (P = 0.634 for nonlinearity). However, the reduced risk was not statistically significant. In conclusion, the results from this meta-analysis suggest that alcohol intake is not related with the risk of VTE. Further large well-designed cohort studies are warranted to investigate a potential protective role of alcohol against VTE in women.

Keywords: alcohol drinking; cohort; meta-analysis; pulmonary embolism; venous thromboembolism.

Copyright © 2020 Chen, Ji, Chen, Hong and Jia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Detailed process of literature search and study selection.

Figure 2

Figure 2

A forest plot showing risk estimates estimating the association between alcohol consumption and venous thromboembolism risk.

Figure 3

Figure 3

Sensitivity analysis was performed by removing each study in turn and repeating the pooled relative risk estimates.

Figure 4

Figure 4

A funnel plot of studies assessing incident venous thromboembolism in highest alcohol consumers compared with the lowest alcohol consumers.

Figure 5

Figure 5

The dose–response association between alcohol intake (grams per day) and venous thromboembolism risk. The solid line and the long dash line represent the estimated risk estimates and their 95% CIs. Short dash line represents the linear relationship.

References

    1. Heit JA, Spencer FA, White RH. The epidemiology of venous thromboembolism. J Thromb Thromb. (2016) 41:3–14. 10.1007/s11239-015-1311-6 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Horsted F, West J, Grainge MJ. Risk of venous thromboembolism in patients with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Med. (2012) 9:e1001275. 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001275 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Januel J-M, Chen G, Ruffieux C, Quan H, Douketis JD, Crowther MA, et al. Symptomatic in-hospital deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism following hip and knee arthroplasty among patients receiving recommended prophylaxis: a systematic review. JAMA. (2012) 307:294–303. 10.1001/jama.2011.2029 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Scarabin P-Y, Oger E, Plu-Bureau G, Estrogen Group THRS . Differential association of oral and transdermal oestrogen-replacement therapy with venous thromboembolism risk. Lancet. (2003) 362:428–32. 10.1016/S0140-6736(03)14066-4 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Heit JA, O'Fallon WM, Petterson TM, Lohse CM, Silverstein MD, Mohr DN, et al. Relative impact of risk factors for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism: a population-based study. Arch Intern Med. (2002) 162:1245–8. 10.1001/archinte.162.11.1245 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources