Cardiovascular risk in 159 934 frequent blood donors while addressing the healthy donor effect

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Health
• Hematology
• Public Health

Background:

• Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide.
• Blood donation is a common practice aimed at ensuring adequate blood supply for medical needs.
• The potential health benefits or risks for blood donors themselves are an area of ongoing research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between regular blood donation and the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
• To determine if there is a sex-specific difference in the cardiovascular risk associated with blood donation.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 159,934 Dutch whole-blood donors with at least 10 years of donation history was analyzed.
• Donors were categorized into tertiles based on donation frequency.
• Cardiovascular endpoints were assessed using hospital discharge diagnoses and death certificates, with Cox regression used for analysis.

Main Results:

• Female high-frequency blood donors exhibited reduced cardiovascular morbidity compared to low-frequency donors (HRR=0.91).
• No significant association between blood donation frequency and cardiovascular risk was observed in men (HRR=1.00).
• Sensitivity analyses using a shorter qualification period supported the absence of a residual healthy donor effect.

Conclusions:

• Long-term, high-frequency blood donation appears to have a protective effect against cardiovascular disease.
• This protective association was specifically observed in women, with no effect noted in men.
• The findings suggest a potential benefit of regular blood donation for cardiovascular health in females.