Health conditions in adults with atrial fibrillation compared with the general population: a population-based cross-sectional analysis

TY - JOUR

T1 - Health conditions in adults with atrial fibrillation compared with the general population

T2 - a population-based cross-sectional analysis

AU - Downes, Thomas J

AU - Guthrie, Bruce

AU - Moreno-Martos, David

AU - Morales, Daniel R

N1 - © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group.

PY - 2025/6/13

Y1 - 2025/6/13

N2 - BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) prevalence is rising due to population ageing and comorbidity is an increasing problem. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and association of coexisting health conditions among adults with AF in the general population.METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) primary care electronic medical records in England linked to hospital admissions as of 30 November 2015. CPRD is broadly representative of the UK general population in terms of age, sex and ethnicity. We estimated prevalence and used logistic regression examining risk factors of age, sex and socioeconomic status (SES) to compare prevalence of 252 physical and mental health conditions and 23 higher level health condition groups in adults with AF compared with adults without AF.RESULTS: 34 338 adults with AF (57% male; 83% ≥65 years) and 907 739 without AF (49% male; 23% ≥65 years) were identified. Adjusted for age and sex, adults with AF were significantly more likely to have 20/23 (87%) health condition groups than adults without AF. The most prevalent health condition groups in adults with AF were cardiovascular (prevalence of 89% in adults with AF vs 26% in adults without AF, adjusted OR (aOR) 5.82, 95% CI 5.60 to 6.05), gastrointestinal (62% vs 37%, aOR 1.34, 95% CI 1.31 to 1.38) and orthopaedic (58% vs 24%, aOR 1.32, 95% CI 1.29 to 1.35). 151/252 individual conditions were significantly more common in adults with AF including cardiovascular conditions such as cardiomyopathy (4.5% vs 0.3%, aOR 9.58, 95% CI 8.88 to 10.35) and heart failure (18% vs 0.7%, aOR 9.07, 95% CI 8.70 to 9.46), and non-cardiovascular conditions such as pleural effusion (16% vs 1.8%, aOR 3.55, 95% CI 3.42 to 3.67) and oesophageal malignancy (0.3% vs 0.0%, aOR 2.14, 95% CI 1.69 to 2.70). Associations were similar after SES adjustment.CONCLUSIONS: While cardiovascular conditions are highly prevalent and strongly associated with AF, a wide spectrum of non-cardiovascular conditions were also strongly associated, requiring a greater understanding of managing comorbid conditions with management principles contradictory to AF.

AB - BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) prevalence is rising due to population ageing and comorbidity is an increasing problem. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and association of coexisting health conditions among adults with AF in the general population.METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) primary care electronic medical records in England linked to hospital admissions as of 30 November 2015. CPRD is broadly representative of the UK general population in terms of age, sex and ethnicity. We estimated prevalence and used logistic regression examining risk factors of age, sex and socioeconomic status (SES) to compare prevalence of 252 physical and mental health conditions and 23 higher level health condition groups in adults with AF compared with adults without AF.RESULTS: 34 338 adults with AF (57% male; 83% ≥65 years) and 907 739 without AF (49% male; 23% ≥65 years) were identified. Adjusted for age and sex, adults with AF were significantly more likely to have 20/23 (87%) health condition groups than adults without AF. The most prevalent health condition groups in adults with AF were cardiovascular (prevalence of 89% in adults with AF vs 26% in adults without AF, adjusted OR (aOR) 5.82, 95% CI 5.60 to 6.05), gastrointestinal (62% vs 37%, aOR 1.34, 95% CI 1.31 to 1.38) and orthopaedic (58% vs 24%, aOR 1.32, 95% CI 1.29 to 1.35). 151/252 individual conditions were significantly more common in adults with AF including cardiovascular conditions such as cardiomyopathy (4.5% vs 0.3%, aOR 9.58, 95% CI 8.88 to 10.35) and heart failure (18% vs 0.7%, aOR 9.07, 95% CI 8.70 to 9.46), and non-cardiovascular conditions such as pleural effusion (16% vs 1.8%, aOR 3.55, 95% CI 3.42 to 3.67) and oesophageal malignancy (0.3% vs 0.0%, aOR 2.14, 95% CI 1.69 to 2.70). Associations were similar after SES adjustment.CONCLUSIONS: While cardiovascular conditions are highly prevalent and strongly associated with AF, a wide spectrum of non-cardiovascular conditions were also strongly associated, requiring a greater understanding of managing comorbid conditions with management principles contradictory to AF.

KW - Cardiovascular Diseases

KW - Atrial Fibrillation

KW - Electronic Health Records

KW - Epidemiology

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105000472131

U2 - 10.1136/heartjnl-2024-324618

DO - 10.1136/heartjnl-2024-324618

M3 - Article

C2 - 40037761

SN - 1355-6037

VL - 111

SP - 618

EP - 625

JO - Heart

JF - Heart

IS - 13

ER -