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American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 136, No. 5: 513-524
Copyright © 1992 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health

other

The Relation of Prothrombin Times to Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors among Men Aged 31–45 Years

David S. Freedman1,, Tim Byers1, Joseph J. Barboriak2, W. Dana Flanders3, Alexander Duncan4, Ray Yip1 and Elaine N. Meilahn5

1Division of Nutrition, Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control Atlanta, GA
2Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Veterans Affairs Medical Center Milwaukee, Wl
3Department of Epidemiology, Emory University School of Public Health Atlanta, GA
4Department of Pathology, Emory University Hospital Atlanta, GA
5Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA

Reprint requests to Dr David S. Freedman, Centers for Disease Control, K-26, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333.

Although levels of coagulation factor VII and fibrinogen are predictive of cardiovascular disease, relatively little data describe hemostatic characteristics in healthy populations. The cross-sectional associations between the prothrombin time, a measure of the activity of the extrinsic and common pathways of coagulation, and traits associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease were therefore examined among 3, 604 white and 514 black, male, US Army veterans aged 31–45 years. The prothrombin time measurements, performed in 1985 and 1986, were precise, with an intraclass correlation of 0.98 (202 pairs). Overall, the mean prothrombin time was 12.4 seconds (standard deviation, 0.4 seconds), and 11 percent of the men had a value of less than 12 seconds. Many of the observed associations with the prothrombin time paralleled those that have been reported with clotting factor VII and fibrinogen. The mean prothrombin time was 0.15 seconds shorter among whites than among blacks and was 0.2 seconds shorter among current cigarette smokers than among men who had never smoked. Inverse associations were also seen with relative weight and with levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides (r = –0.09 to –0.16). All associations were statistically significant at the 0.01 level, and the examined characteristics could jointly account for about 12 percent of the variability in prothrombin times. Additional data on characteristics related to coagulation may help elucidate the natural history of cardiovascular disease and aid in the design of clinical trials. Am J Epidemiol 1992; 136: 513–24

blacks; blood coagulation; cardiovascular diseases; lipids; prothrombin time; smoking


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