ABO blood group but not haemostasis genetic polymorphisms significantly influence thrombotic risk: a study of 180 homozygotes for the Factor V Leiden mutation

Summary Limited data exist on the impact of additional genetic risk factors on the clinical manifestations of factor (F) V Leiden homozygotes. A retrospective multi‐centre cohort study was performed to assess the role of the FII G20210A gene mutation, the protein C (PC) promoter CG haplotype, the combination of two PC polymorphisms (A‐1641G, C‐1654T), the FXIII Val34Leu polymorphism, two thrombin‐activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor polymorphisms (Thr325Ile, Ala147Thr), two plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1 polymorphisms (‐675 4G/5G, A‐844G), the methylene‐tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism and the ABO blood group on the thrombotic phenotype in FV Leiden homozygotes. 127 subjects with venous thrombosis and 53 asymptomatic subjects were analysed. The T allele of MTHFR C677T was more frequent in symptomatic subjects than in asymptomatic ones (68% vs. 45%, P = 0·02; odds ratio (OR) 2·8, 95% CI 1·3–5·8, after adjustment for potential confounders). For the other polymorphisms, no difference was observed between symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects. The non‐O blood group was more frequent among symptomatic carriers (84% vs. 57%, P = 0·0002; OR 4·1, 95% CI 1·7–9·7). In conclusion, except for the ABO blood group, none of the polymorphisms studied contribute strongly to the thrombotic risk in FV Leiden homozygotes.