Table 2:

Cox models of the top novel predictors from the GBM approach, along with debated predictors for varicose veins.

Variable		Age- and sex-adjusted HR (95%CI)	Fully adjusted* HR (95%CI)
Traditional	History of DVT	2.71 (2.28–3.23)	2.60 (2.18–3.11)
	Birth weight of first child†	1.23 (1.05–1.44)	1.21 (1.03–1.42)
	Number of live births	1.12 (0.99–1.27)	1.12 (0.99–1.27)
	BMI	1.11 (1.00–1.24)	1.11 (0.99–1.24)
	Waist-hip ratio	1.10 (0.97–1.26)	1.01 (0.88–1.16)
Novel	Leg bioimpedance	0.56 (0.51–0.63)	0.43 (0.39–0.50)
	Height	1.70 (1.48–1.96)	1.74 (1.51–2.01)
	Major operations	0.75 (0.69–0.82)	0.77 (0.70–0.84)
	Surgery on leg arteries	3.71 (2.46–5.62)	3.50 (2.30–5.33)
	Ulceration of lower limb (ICD-10: L97)	4.65 (2.36–9.16)	3.00 (1.36–6.61)
	Other soft tissue disorders (ICD-10: M79)	2.01 (1.58–2.55)	1.66 (1.30–2.12)
	Cellulitis (ICD-10: L03)	2.09 (1.52–2.87)	1.79 (1.29–2.48)
Debated	Smoking	1.04 (0.92–1.19)	1.04 (0.91–1.19)
	Systolic blood pressure	0.81 (0.72–0.90)	0.79 (0.71–0.88)
	Age completed full time education	0.80 (0.70–0.91)	0.82 (0.72–0.93)
	Oral contraceptive use	0.67 (0.44–1.02)	0.68 (0.44–1.04)
	Hormone replacement therapy	1.25 (1.04–1.49)	1.25 (1.04–1.50)
	Days per week walked >10 minutes	1.32 (1.18–1.47)	1.33 (1.19–1.48)
	Duration of moderate daily activity	1.00 (0.87–1.14)	1.00 (0.88–1.15)

DVT: deep vein thrombosis. BMI: body mass index. HR: hazard ratio. CI: confidence interval. Associations between candidate variables and varicose veins are reported for as HR and 95% CI for the upper vs. lower quartile for continuous variables, or presence vs. absence for binary variables. Separate models were used for each variable.

^*Fully adjusted model includes age, gender, BMI, history of DVT, and waist-hip ratio. Pregnancy-specific factors, oral contraceptive use, and hormone replacement therapy were only assessed in female study participants.

^†Weight in pounds.