Comorbid Alzheimer’s disease is a risk factor of acquired hemophilia A incidence

The presence of Alzheimer’s disease and rheumatic disease are significant risk factors for late-onset acquired Haemophilia A (AHA), in individuals ≥60 years old, according to a study.

Acquired Haemophilia A is a rare but potentially life-threatening bleeding disorder caused by the development of antibodies against clotting factors. While the disease is often associated with autoimmune disorders, the risk factors have yet to be fully understood.

Researchers conducted a population-based cohort study of 1,160,934 individuals ≥60 years old, of which 34 patients were newly diagnosed with AHA during the study period, which had a mean follow-up period of 5.6 years. The incidence of AHA was 5.21 per million person-years.

The study found that myocardial infarction, diabetes mellitus, solid tumors, antimicrobial agents, phenytoin, and anti-dementia drugs were excluded from the multivariable analysis due to the small number of cases. However, multivariable regression analysis showed that the presence of Alzheimer’s disease and rheumatic disease increased the risk of AHA development, with hazard ratios of 4.28 and 4.65, respectively.

These findings provide new insight into the etiology of AHA and suggest that the coexistence of Alzheimer’s disease may support the recent notion that Alzheimer’s disease is an autoimmune disease. Further research is needed to fully understand the relationship between these risk factors and the development of AHA.

Reference
Shoji-Asahina A, Nakatani E, Imaichi Y, et al. Risk factors, treatment and survival rates of late-onset acquired haemophilia A: A cohort study from the Shizuoka Kokuho Database. Haemophilia. 2023;doi: 10.1111/hae.14793. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37096498.