Sports participation and physical activity in patients with von Willebrand disease

INTRODUCTION: Patients with bleeding disorders may experience limitations in sports participation and physical activity. Several studies on sports participation have been performed in haemophilia patients, but studies in patients with von Willebrand disease (VWD) are lacking. AIM: We assessed the sports participation and physical activity of a large cohort of VWD patients. METHODS: Patients were included from the “WiN study.” All patients completed a questionnaire on sports participation, physical activity, quality of life and bleeding symptoms (Tosetto bleeding score). RESULTS: From the 798 included patients, 474 had type 1, 301 type 2 and 23 type 3 VWD. The mean age was 39 ± 20 (standard deviation) years. Five hundred and fifty‐two patients (69.3%) participated in various types of sports. Type 3 VWD patients more often did not participate in sports due to fear of bleeding and physical impairment, respectively, OR = 13.24 (95% CI: 2.45‐71.53) and OR = 5.90 (95% CI: 1.77‐19.72). Patients who did not participate in sports due to physical impairment had a higher bleeding score item for joint bleeds 1.0 (±1.6) vs 0.5 (± 1.1) (P = 0.036). Patients with type 3 VWD and patients with a higher bleeding score frequently had severe limitations during daily activities, respectively, OR = 9.84 (95% CI: 2.83‐34.24) and OR = 1.08 (95% CI: 1.04‐1.12). CONCLUSION: The majority of VWD patients participated in sports. Patients with type 3 VWD, a history of joint bleeds and a more severe bleeding phenotype frequently experienced limitations in sports participation and physical activities during daily life.