title: Age, sex and vitamin status affect plasma level of homocysteine, but hyperhomocysteinaemia is possibly not an important risk factor for venous thrombophilia in Taiwanese Chinese.
abstract: The biological effects of age, sex and vitamin status on plasma total homocysteine (tHcy), and association of hyperhomocysteinaemia with venous thromboembolism in Taiwanese Chinese individuals, were investigated. Eighty patients (16-85 years) with venous thrombophilia and 123 healthy subjects (15-85 years) without history of vascular thrombosis were studied for plasma levels of tHcy, folate and vitamin B12. A multivariate analysis in healthy subjects revealed that plasma tHcy levels tended to increase with age (P < 0.001) and with decreasing plasma levels of folate (P=0.001) or vitamin B12 (P < 0.029); men tended to have higher plasma tHcy levels than women (P=0.006). Thrombotic risk assessment in a case-control study demonstrated that neither plasma level of tHcy [odds ratio (OR), 1.07; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.96-1.18; P=0.210] nor hyperhomocysteinaemia (OR, 1.65; 95% CI, 0.50-5.49; P=0.415) was significantly associated with venous thrombophilia. The relationship between hyperhomocysteinaemia and recurrence of episode remained insignificant (P=0.560). We conclude that age, sex and vitamin status affect plasma tHcy but hyperhomocysteinaemia is possibly not an important risk factor for venous thrombophilia in Taiwanese Chinese.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jen-Shiou
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Ming-Ching
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Wern-Cherng
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Woei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tsay
authors.forename: Ying-Chi
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Bin-Bin
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Mei-Hua
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Hung
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D020138:Hyperhomocysteinemia / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013624:Taiwan; D019851:Thrombophilia / Q000209:etiology*; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D005492:Folic Acid; D014805:Vitamin B 12