Men who donated blood were 88% less likely to have a heart attack over 9 years

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Monday, July 02, 2018 2:02 pm Email this article

Men who donated blood were 88% less likely to have a heart attack during a 9-year followup compared to men who did not donate blood according to a 1998 study from Finland.

This was after adjusting for age and coronary disease risk factors.

Only one (1) man out of 153 (0.7%) who had donated blood in the previous 24 months before baseline had a heart attack during 1984 to 1995, whereas 316 men of 2529 (12.5%) who had not donated blood had a heart attack.

“These findings suggest that frequent blood loss through voluntary blood donations may be associated with a reduced risk of acute myocardial infarction in middle-aged men,” the authors of the study concluded.

Reference

Salonen JT, Tuomainen TP, Salonen R, Lakka TA, and Nyyssonen K. Donation of blood is associated with reduced risk of myocardial infarction. The Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. Am J Epidemiol, 1998 Sep 1; 148(5): 445-451.

The paper is posted here.

Author’s Contact Info

Research Institute of Public Health
University of Kuopio, Finland

Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Blood Donation

• Heart Attack (myocardial infarction)

• Heart Disease