Prevalence of hereditary risk factors for thrombophilia in Belém, Brazilian Amazon

Different risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE) have been identified, including hereditary abnormalities in the mechanisms of coagulation and fibrinolysis. We investigated five genetic polymorphisms (FVL G1691A, FII G20210A, MTHFR C677T, TAFI A152G and TAFI T1053C) associated with VTE in individuals from the city of Belém in the Brazilian Amazon who had no history of VTE. No significant difference was found between the observed and expected genotype frequencies for the loci analyzed. We found high frequencies of MTHFR C677T (33.9%) and TAFI T1053C (74%) and low frequencies of FVL (1.6%), FII G20210A (0.8%) and TAFI A152G (0.8%). The FVL G1691A, FII G20210A and MTHFR C677T frequencies were similar to those for European populations and populations of European descent living in the city of Ribeirão Preto in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. The frequency of the two TAFI mutations in the Belém individuals was not significantly different from that described for individuals from Ribeirão Preto. We suggest that the risks for VTE in the population of Belém are of the same magnitude as that observed in European populations and in populations with an expressive European contribution.