The Influence of Ethnicity on Warfarin Dosage Requirement

Background: The optimal dose of warfarin varies among individuals, and the prediction of a maintenance dose is difficult. Ethnicity has been reported to influence warfarin dosing.

Objective: To quantitate the influence of ethnicity on warfarin dose requirement.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study at a university anticoagulation clinic to evaluate the influence of ethnicity on warfarin dose. Inclusion criteria included age > or = 18 years, target international normalized ratio (INR) 2-3, and warfarin management within the clinic for > or = 3 months with a minimum of 5 clinic visits. We collected clinical and demographic data including age, gender, weight, ethnicity, disease states, concomitant medications, indication, weekly warfarin dosage, and INR. To assess potential confounders, multivariate, repeated-measures regression analysis was used to identify and adjust for variables that may influence the maintenance dose of warfarin.

Results: Of the 345 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 27% were Asian American, 6% Hispanic, 54% white, and 14% African American. The adjusted mean (95% CI) weekly warfarin doses for patients with an INR goal of 2 to 3 were Asian Americans 24 mg (21 to 27), Hispanics 31 mg (25 to 37), whites 36 mg (34 to 39), and African Americans 43 mg (39 to 47) (p < 0.001). Additional factors found to influence warfarin dose requirement included age, weight, concomitant use of amiodarone, and diagnosis of venous thromboembolism.

Conclusions: Warfarin dose requirements vary across ethnic groups even when adjusted for confounding factors, suggesting that genetic variation contributes to interpatient variability.