Risk Factors and Mortality Associated with Venous Thromboembolism in White, Black and Asian Elderly Patients with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

To examine the association of venous thromboembolism (VTE) with known risk factors and the impact of VTE on mortality in White, Black and Asian elderly non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients. The United States SEER-Medicare database was used for patients ≥65 years, diagnosed with NHL from 2000 to 2019. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the risk factors for VTE and Cox proportional hazard regression was used to evaluate the effect of VTE on mortality overall and stratified by race. There were 276,296 NHL patients in the cohort. VTE was diagnosed in 14.6% of (14.7% White, 17.2% Black & 8.1% Asian, p <0.01) NHL patients. The adjusted odds of VTE were, 1.17 (95% CI, 1.10-1.25) in Black and 0.59 (95% CI, 0.54-0.63) in Asian patients compared to White patients. Age ≥ 75 years was associated with VTE in White patients and females had a higher odds of VTE in White and Asian patients. VTE was associated with chemotherapy (1.73, 95% CI, 1.68-1.78), hypertension (1.87, 95% CI, 1.79-1.95), heart failure (1.61, 95% CI, 1.56-1.66), kidney disease (1.32, 95% CI, 1.28-1.37), and obesity (1.26, 95% CI, 1.21-1.31) overall and in all races. However, differences were found in other risk factors in White, Black and Asian patients. There were racial differences in the effect estimates, but VTE was a predictor of death (HR=1.19, 95% CI, 1.18-1.21) in elderly NHL patients. We found racial differences in the risk of VTE in elderly NHL patients, but VTE was associated with mortality in all races. • There are racial differences in the risk of VTE in NHL patients. • Risk of VTE is higher in Black patients compared to White NHL patients. • Risk of VTE is lower in Asian patients compared to White NHL patients. • Risk of death is higher in Black and Asian patients compared to White NHL patients. • VTE is a predictor of death in White, Black and Asian NHL patients.