Link Discovered Between Obesity, Blood Clots In Children

There may be a link between obesity and the formation of blood clots in the veins of children and adolescents, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

During the study, researchers conducted a retrospective chart review of inpatients at Wake Forest Baptists Brenner Children's Hospital between January 2000 and September 2012. They examined 88 patients between the ages 2 to 18 who had confirmed cases of venous thromboembolism (VTE).

While previous studies in adult populations have shown that obesity is a well-established risk factor for VTE, the findings in pediatric populations are somewhat mixed, researchers say.

After adjusting for other risk factors, study authors discovered that a small but statistically significant association between obesity and VTE can cause acute and even chronic health issues if left untreated.

Of the patients in the study, 33 VTE patients were also obese with known risk factors for blood clots in addition to obesity.

"Our study presents data from a single institution with a relatively small sample size," lead study author, Elizabeth Halvorson, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at Wake Forest Baptist, said in a news release. "But it does demonstrate an association between obesity and VTE in children, which should be explored further in larger future studies."

The findings are published in the journal Hospital Pediatrics.

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