The relationship between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) has been scarcely studied in the general population. We aimed to investigate the association between COPD and risk of VTE and mortality in a population-based cohort.Spirometry was conducted in 8646 males and females, participating in the fifth (2001-02) and sixth (2007-08) surveys of the Tromsø Study. Incident VTE events during follow-up were registered from the date of inclusion to December 31, 2011. Cox-regression models with COPD stages and confounders as time varying covariates were used to calculate hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals for VTE and all-cause mortality.During a median follow-up of 6.2 years, 215 subjects developed VTE. Subjects with COPD stage III/IV had a two-fold higher risk of secondary VTE compared to subjects with normal airflow (HR 2.05, 95% CI 1.02-4.10). COPD patients, particularly those with stage III/IV disease, with VTE had a higher mortality rate than COPD patients without VTE (50.2% versus 5.6% per year).Our findings suggest that patients with severe COPD may have increased risk of secondary VTE, and that COPD patients with VTE have a higher mortality rate than COPD patients without VTE. @ERSpublications Patients with severe COPD may have increased risk of VTE: VTE is associated with a worse prognosis in COPD patients

Patients with myocardial infarction (MI) are at increased short-term risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The mechanisms behind this association are unclear. We aimed to investigate the impact of acute MI as a transient risk factor for incident VTE while taking other concomitant VTE risk factors into account. We conducted a case–crossover study of VTE patients (n = 707) recruited from the fourth survey of the Tromsø Study. VTE risk factors and hospitalizations were registered during the 90-day period preceding the VTE diagnosis (hazard period) and in four 90-day control periods. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for VTE according to acute MI and after adjustment for other risk factors. Additionally, we applied a mediation analysis to quantify how much the known transient risk factors account for the observed effect of MI on VTE risk. MI was recorded in 13 (1.8%) of the hazard periods and in 6 (0.2%) of the control periods, which yielded a crude OR of 11.9 (95% CI: 3.9–36.7). Adjustment for immobilization and infection yielded an OR of 2.7 (95% CI: 0.6–11.2). The OR was attenuated to 2.6 (95% CI: 0.6–11.9) after further adjustment for major surgery, trauma, red blood cell transfusion, and central venous catheterization. Approximately 60% of the association between MI and VTE was mediated through infection and immobilization. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the increased VTE risk after MI may to a large extent be explained by concomitant conditions related to MI, particularly infections and immobilization.

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). It remains unknown whether individual respiratory symptoms and lowered oxygen saturation (SpO2), individually and in combination with COPD, affect the risk of VTE. Objectives To investigate whether measures of respiratory impairments including respiratory symptoms and SpO2, individually and combined with COPD, were associated with an increased risk of VTE. Methods Spirometry, SpO2, and self‐reported respiratory symptoms were collected in 8686 participants from the fifth (2001‐2002) and sixth (2007‐2008) surveys of the Tromsø Study. Incident VTE events were registered from the date of inclusion to December 31, 2016. Cox regression models with exposures and confounders as time‐varying covariates (for repeated measurements) were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for VTE. Results During a median follow‐up of 9.1 years, 330 participants developed incident VTE. Subjects with SpO2 ≤ 96% (lowest 20th percentile) had a 1.5‐fold higher risk of VTE (adjusted HR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.13‐1.93) compared with those with SpO2 ≥ 98%. Severe respiratory symptoms (dyspnea, cough, and phlegm) were associated with a 1.4‐ to 2.0‐fold higher risk of VTE compared with no such symptoms. COPD, combined with respiratory symptoms or lowered SpO2, had an additive effect on the VTE risk. Conclusions Lowered SpO2 and severe respiratory symptoms were associated with increased VTE risk. COPD combined with respiratory impairments had an additive effect on VTE risk, and may suggest particular attention on VTE preventive strategies in COPD patients with respiratory impairments.