The influence of venous thromboembolism on quality of life and severity of chronic venous disease.

BACKGROUND: It is not known whether burden-of-illness differs in chronic venous disease patients with prior venous thromboembolism compared with patients with other forms of chronic venous disease. OBJECTIVE: To compare severity of disease and quality of life in chronic venous disease patients with and without prior venous thromboembolism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The VEINES Study population is an international cohort of 1531 outpatients with chronic venous disease in Belgium, France, Italy and Canada. Clinical severity of chronic venous disease graded using the seven-category 'CEAP' scale, and quality of life using standardized generic (SF-36) and venous disease-specific (VEINES-QOL/Sym) questionnaires were compared in patients with and without venous thromboembolism. Multivariable analyses with adjustment for known confounders were used to examine associations between venous thromboembolism and quality of life. RESULTS: One hundred and fifty-one (10%) patients had prior venous thromboembolism. These patients had more severe chronic venous disease than those without venous thromboembolism (P