Prevalence of comorbid conditions among older males with haemophilia receiving care in haemophilia treatment centers in the United States.

introductionIncreased survival among men with haemophilia has brought with it an increased risk of age-related comorbidities that may be challenging to treat in the presence of a bleeding disorder.

aimEstimate the prevalence of several age-related comorbidities among older males with haemophilia receiving care in the U.S. haemophilia treatment center (HTC) network compared to that among the general population.

methodsPeople with bleeding disorders who receive care in network HTCs can volunteer to participate in a surveillance registry that collects detailed clinical information including the presence of comorbid conditions at annual visits. We used registry data collected on males with haemophilia age 45 years and older to calculate lifetime prevalence of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, renal disease, cancer, anxiety and depression. Comparable data on the U.S. general male population was obtained from the National Health Interview Survey.

resultsDuring the surveillance period, 1592 middle-aged (45-64 years) and 645 older (≥65 years) patients with haemophilia had comorbidity data collected during 6435 HTC visits. Most haemophilia patients in both age groups had a higher prevalence of anxiety, depression and diabetes, but a lower prevalence of hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke and myocardial infarction compared to the general U.S. male population. In addition, middle-aged patients had lower rates of leukemia, whereas older patients had higher rates of obesity than the general population.

conclusionThese findings highlight the mental stress associated with this chronic condition and support continued public health obesity prevention efforts in the haemophilia community.