Varicose veins are swollen and twisted veins that can be seen directly below the skin, usually in the legs, and suffer more than 30 million people in the United States from varicose veins.
Although this condition is often described as only irritating in cosmetic terms, it can cause moderate pain and has been linked to a more serious side effect, which is deep vein thrombosis, which is a blood clot in deep veins in the body.
In this study, the researchers analyzed the data of about 500,000 people who participated in the long-term study conducted by the British biobank, looking for features associated with the risk of varicose veins, which led to their height as a powerful risk factor.
The researchers then carried out a broad genetic survey of hundreds of thousands of people and identified 30 genes, many of which contribute to skeletal and vascular growth, indicating that height may be a direct cause of varicose veins.
"We do not yet know why height is such a powerful risk factor for varicose veins," said study author Nicholas Lipper of Stanford University in California.
"It may be a simple matter of blood flow and gravity," he said in an e-mail. "It takes a lot of pressure in their veins to grow taller and bigger."
"On the other hand, our strong genetic studies have shown that height is not only linked to the disease but appears to be caused by it, which is very different, because genes that control human length may play a role in the structure and integrity of the veins," he said.
The study confirmed that surgery in the legs and history of the family, and lack of movement and smoking and hormone therapy are all risk factors may also cause varicose veins.
