Prevalence of variants that confer risk for venous thromboembolism in an elderly population of northeastern Brazil.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality stemming from cardiovascular disease. It is a multifactorial disease caused by a combination of acquired risk factors, of which advanced age is the most significant, and genetic factors, including the variants FV G1691A, FII G20210A, and MTHFR C677T. We estimated the prevalence of these genomic variants in an elderly population of northeastern Brazil. The study included 188 elderly persons (65-93 years), of which 68 (36.2%) were men and 120 (63.8%) were women. Variants were detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, and subsequent electrophoresis on an 8% polyacrylamide gel stained with silver nitrate. The study population was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for the 3 loci. Of the individuals analyzed, none carried variants of FV or FII (0%), and 24.7% had the MTHFR C677T polymorphism: 59 subjects (31.4%) were heterozygous (CT) and 17 subjects (9%) were homozygous (TT). Based on the analysis of these particular genes, we conclude that the study population does not present an increased risk for the development of VTE. Faced with a growing aging population worldwide, similar studies in other countries will help in the prevention of VTE in older individuals.