Larger people are more likely to develop varicose veins, study finds

According to a new report, varicose veins affect 30 million people in the United States, and many of them are large.

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Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine recently conducted a study, published in the journal Circulation, to explore the link between height and varicose veins, which are twisted and swollen veins under the surface of the skin. The condition, usually in the legs, can cause moderate pain and can lead to more serious side effects, such as blood clots.

For the evaluation, the researchers examined the UK Biobank, a genetic repository containing data on more than 500,000 people aged 40 to 69 years. They then identified 30 genetic regions associated with the disease and used an artificial intelligence machine to search for other unknown risks. factors.

"These methods represent new ways of thinking about research," co-author Erik Ingelsson said in a statement. "You enter without hypothesis on a specific biological mechanism and look for something new. You could say that you let go of the machine on it. In this case, we included 2,716 predictors of varicose veins in this machine learning algorithm. Then we let the algorithms find the strongest predictors of varicose veins. "

The model of the machine has confirmed previously known factors, such as age, woman, overweight or pregnancy or a history of deep vein thrombosis, which occurs when a blood clot forms in one or several deep veins.

They also found an "unexpected" correlation between condition and size, the results revealed.

"We were very surprised that our machine learning analyzes were up to par," said co-author Alyssa Flores.

After further research using Mendelian randomization analyzes, a statistical technique to determine causal effects, they found that height may not be just a factor but a cause.

"Our results strongly suggest that size is a cause, not just a correlated factor, but an underlying mechanism leading to varicose veins," Ingelsson said.

Although scientists do not yet understand why larger individuals may have an increased risk of varicose veins, the team said they thought they had "a much better understanding of modified biology in people at risk."

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