Article

Diabetes has been associated with atrial fibrillation but the current
evidence is conflicting. In particular knowledge regarding young diabetes
patients and the risk of developing atrial fibrillation is sparse. The aim of our
study was to investigate the risk of atrial fibrillation in patients with
diabetes compared to the background population in Denmark. METHODS : Through Danish nationwide registries we included persons above 18 years of age
and without prior atrial fibrillation and/or diabetes from 1996 to 2012. The
study cohort was divided into a background population without diabetes and a
diabetes group. The absolute risk of developing atrial fibrillation was
calculated and Poisson regression models adjusted for sex, age and comorbidities
were used to calculate incidence rate ratios of atrial fibrillation. The total
study cohort included 5,081,087 persons, 4,827,713 (95%) in the background
population and 253,374 (5%) in the diabetes group. Incidence rates of atrial
fibrillation per 1000 person years were stratified in four age groups from 18 to
39, 40 to 64, 65 to 74 and 75 to 100 years giving incidence rates (95% confidence
intervals) of 0.02 (0.02-0.02), 0.99 (0.98-1.01), 8.89 (8.81-8.98) and 20.0
(19.9-20.2) in the background population and 0.13 (0.09-0.20), 2.10 (2.00-2.20),
8.41 (8.10-8.74) and 20.1 (19.4-20.8) in the diabetes group, respectively. The
adjusted incidence rate ratios in the diabetes group with the background
population as reference were 2.34 (1.52-3.60), 1.52 (1.47-1.56), 1.20 (1.18-1.23)
and 0.99 (0.97-1.01) in the four age groups, respectively. CONCLUSION: Diabetes
is an independent risk factor for developing atrial fibrillation/flutter, most
pronounced in young diabetes patients. Routine screening for atrial
fibrillation/flutter in diabetes patients might be beneficial and have
therapeutic implications, especially in younger diabetes patients. TRANSLATIONAL
PERSPECTIVE: Diabetes increases the risk of developing atrial fibrillation and
especially young diabetes patients have a high relative risk. Increased focus on
detecting atrial fibrillation in young diabetes patients might prove beneficial,
and both anticoagulation treatment and anti-arrhythmic treatment strategies
should be considered as soon as possible.
CI - (c) The European Society of Cardiology 2015.
- AVC

Langue : ANGLAIS