The effects of race/ethnicity and sex on the risk of venous thromboembolism

PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW: Recently, studies on large diverse populations have described important ethnic/racial differences in venous thromboembolism incidence, and sex has been reported as an important predictor of recurrence. We review the influence of race/ethnicity and sex on venous thromboembolism, concentrating on articles from 2005 to 2007. RECENT FINDINGS: Most studies found that women have a 40-400% lower risk of recurrent venous thromboembolism than men. Studies of ethnicity/race on risk provide strong evidence that African-American patients are the highest risk group for first-time venous thromboembolism, while Hispanic patients' risk is about half that of Caucasians. African-Americans and Hispanics have a higher risk of recurrence than Caucasians, but sex and the type of index venous thromboembolism event seem to play a role in this risk. Asian/Pacific Islanders have a markedly lower risk of first-time and cancer-associated venous thromboembolism. There is little difference in incidence in African-Americans, Hispanics, and Caucasians diagnosed with cancer. Sex does not seem to be associated with risk in cancer patients. SUMMARY: Sex and race/ethnicity are important factors in the risk of first-time and recurrent venous thromboembolism and need to be included as risk assessment and diagnostic prediction tools are developed or updated.