Venous thromboembolism (VTE) has become the third most common cardiovascular disease after ischemic heart disease and stroke. Since the official launch of the National Programme for Prevention and Management of Pulmonary Embolism and Deep Vein Thrombosis in 2018, medical personnel have paid more attention to VTE, and the screening rate of VTE has also increased significantly. However, epidemiological investigations related to VTE are mostly limited to single center studies. There is still a lack of large-scale survey data on the prevalence of VTE involving different levels and properties of medical institutions.

To understand the prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of VTE in Jiaxing, and provide a basis for further prevention and treatment of VTE in this region.

A total of 731 755 discharged patients diagnosed with VTE from all secondary and above medical institutions in Jiaxing City in 2021 were included as the study subjects. General patient data and disease diagnosis-related grouping indicators reflecting the number of patients admitted to the hospital and the difficulty of diagnosis and treatment techniques were collected. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore influencing factors of the number of VTE patients in hospitals.

According to inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 10 758 VTE patients were diagnosed. The median age of patients was 71 (62, 79) years. The number of VTE patients in general hospital was the highest, which amounting to 9 732 cases (90.46%), while the number of VTE patients in psychiatric hospital was the lowest at 53 cases (0.49%). The number of VTE patients in tertiary hospitals was higher than that in secondary hospitals [7 929 (73.70%) vs. 2 829 (26.30%) ]. The proportion of VTE patients in general hospital was the highest at 1.85%, and the lowest in maternal and child health hospital at 0.10%. The proportion of VTE patients in tertiary hospitals was higher than that in secondary hospitals, at 1.80% and 0.97%, respectively. The prevalence of VTE in different age groups was statistically significant (χ²=32 383.098, P<0.001). The prevalence of VTE in the high age group was higher than that in the low age group (P<0.05) when comparing the prevalence of VTE between different age groups (P<0.05). The prevalence of VTE in males aged 15-44 years was significantly higher than that in females, with statistical significant difference (P<0.001). Surgical treatment was the first risk factor in the distribution of VTE patients, followed by the presence of malignant tumors. The results of linear regression analysis showed that weight (RW) ≥2 cases was the factor influencing the number of VTE patients (P<0.001), and the number of VTE cases increased by 0.363 for each increase in the number of cases with RW≥2 cases.

The prevalence rate of VTE in Jiaxing is 199.2 per 100 000 population, and the disease burden of VTE in Jiaxing has reached or even exceeded western countries. The main risk populations of VTE were elderly patients who have received surgical treatment, with malignant neoplasm, etc. The level of prevention and treatment of VTE in general hospitals in this region should be further improved. In addition, the participation and attention to the standardized prevention and treatment of VTE in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals, maternity and child health care hospitals and psychiatric hospitals should be enhanced.