# Prevalence and risk factors of deep vein thrombosis in elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis

## TL;DR

This study reviews how common deep vein thrombosis is in elderly people and identifies key risk factors like age, cancer, recent surgery, and elevated D-dimer levels.

## Contribution

The study provides a meta-analysis of DVT prevalence and risk factors in elderly populations across multiple countries.

## Key findings

- Overall DVT prevalence in elderly is 17.10%.
- Malignancy and recent surgery significantly increase DVT risk.
- Elevated D-dimer levels are strongly linked to DVT.

## Abstract

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) demonstrated significant health risk in elderly populations, with numerous comorbidities and biomarkers affecting its incidence. This study evaluated the prevalence, potential allied risk factors for DVT in elderly.

A literature search was conducted across PubMed, Science Direct, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. After excluding studies, 26 studies were comprised in the study. Data were collected for DVT prevalence and associated risk factors.

A total of 11,651 participants comprised from China, Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand. The overall DVT prevalence was 17.10 %, with higher prevalence in females (67.08 %) than males (32.92 %). Age was significantly associated with increased DVT risk (OR=1.54, 95 % CI: 0.34–2.73, p<0.01). While DVT incidence was insignificantly higher among hypertensive and diabetic patients. Significant associations identified between DVT occurrence and malignancy (OR=1.36, 95 % CI: 1.02–1.83, p<0.04), as well as recent surgical history (OR=1.34, 95 % CI: 1.01–1.77, p<0.04). Elevated D-dimer were strongly linked to DVT risk (OR=1.13, 95 % CI: 1.08–1.17, p<0.001).

This review suggested the significant impact of aging, malignancy, recent surgery, and elevated D-dimer levels on DVT risk in elderly and recommends the assessment of clinical signs, risk factors, and biomarkers in elderly individuals.