Subcutaneous fat accumulation and BMI associated with risk for pulmonary embolism in patients with proximal deep vein thrombosis: a population study based on 23 796 consecutive autopsies.
OBJECTIVE: Although deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are manifestations of the same disease, far from all patients develop PE. Our objective was to investigate risk-modifying factors. SETTING, SUBJECTS AND DESIGN: Between 1970 and 1982, 23,796 autopsies, representing 84% of all in-hospital deaths in the Malmö City population, were performed, using a standardized procedure. In a case-control study nested in a population-based cohort of patients with proximal DVT, the relationship between PE and body mass index (BMI), thoracic and abdominal subcutaneous (SC) fat thickness was evaluated. RESULTS: Proximal DVT was found in 15%, of which 58% were women. Mean age in men was 4.5 years lower than in women (P