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Thromb Haemost 1998; 80(06): 874-877
DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1615380
Letters to the Editor
Schattauer GmbH

Hyperhomocysteinemia and Venous Thrombosis: A Meta-analysis

Martin den Heijer
1   Department of Hematology, Leyenburg Hospital, The Hague
,
Frits R. Rosendaal
2   Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Department of Hematology, University Hospital Leiden
,
Henk J. Blom
3   Laboratory of Paediatrics and Neurology, University Hospital Nijmegen, The Netherlands
,
Wim B. J. Gerrits
1   Department of Hematology, Leyenburg Hospital, The Hague
,
Gerard M. J. Bos
1   Department of Hematology, Leyenburg Hospital, The Hague
› Author AffiliationsPresent addresses: Dr. Gerard M. J. Bos is presently a fellow of the Dutch Cancer Foundation.
Further Information

Publication History

Received 19 March 1998

Accepted after resubmission 20 August 1998

Publication Date:
07 December 2017 (online)

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Summary

Hyperhomocysteinemia is an established risk factor for atherosclerosis and vascular disease. Until the early nineties the relationship with venous thrombosis was controversial. At this moment ten case-control studies on venous thrombosis are published. We performed a meta-analysis of these reports.

We performed a MEDLINE-search from 1984 through June 1997 on the keywords “homocysteine” or “hyperhomocysteinemia” and “venous thrombosis”, which yielded ten eligible case-control studies.

We found a pooled estimate of the odds ratio of 2.5 (95% CI 1.8-3.5) for a fasting plasma homocysteine concentration above the 95th percentile or mean plus two standard deviations calculated from the distribution of the respective control groups. For the post-methionine increase in homocysteine concentration we found a pooled estimate of 2.6 (95% CI 1.6-4.4).

These data from case-control studies support hyperhomocysteinemia as a risk factor for venous thrombosis. Further research should focus on the pathophysiology of this relationship and on the clinical effects of reducing homocysteine levels by vitamin supplementation.

 

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