Risk of bleeding and thrombosis in patients 70 years or older using vitamin K antagonists

In this matched cohort study the authors evaluate the age-associated risk of bleeding and thrombosis in 3313 patients ≥70 years attending a single thrombosis service and treated with vitamin K antagonist (VKA). Patients were matched 1:1:1 by decade (70-79, 80-89, 90-99 years) and duration of treatment. The primary end point was a composite of clinically relevant non-major and major bleeding. The main finding of this study was that the frequency of bleeding events was not significantly increased in patients aged 80 to 89 years and only mildly increased in patients 90 years or older compared with patients in their 70s. The subgroup analyses showed that the risk of bleeding increased more with age in men than in women.