Cognitive impairment associated with atrial fibrillation: a meta-analysis

Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been linked with an increased risk for cognitive impairment and dementia.

To complete a meta-analysis of studies examining the association between AF and cognitive impairment.

Search of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and EMBASE databases and hand search of article references.

Prospective and nonprospective studies reporting adjusted risk estimates for the association between AF and cognitive impairment.

Two abstracters independently extracted data on study characteristics, risk estimates, methods of AF and outcome ascertainment, and methodological quality.

Twenty-one studies were included in the meta-analysis. Atrial fibrillation was significantly associated with a higher risk for cognitive impairment in patients with first-ever or recurrent stroke (relative risk [RR], 2.70 [95% CI, 1.82 to 4.00]) and in a broader population including patients with or without a history of stroke (RR, 1.40 [CI, 1.19 to 1.64]). The association in the latter group remained significant independent proof of clinical stroke history (RR, 1.34 [CI, 1.13 to 1.58]). However, there was significant heterogeneity among studies of the broader population (I2 = 69.4%). Limiting the analysis to prospective studies yielded similar results (RR, 1.36 [CI, 1.12 to 1.65]). Restricting the analysis to studies of dementia eliminated the significant heterogeneity (P = 0.137) but did not alter the pooled estimate substantially (RR, 1.38 [CI, 1.22 to 1.56]).

There is an inherent bias because of confounding variables in observational studies. There was significant heterogeneity among included studies.

Evidence suggests that AF is associated with a higher risk for cognitive impairment and dementia, with or without a history of clinical stroke. Further studies are required to elucidate the association between AF and subtypes of dementia as well as the cause of cognitive impairment.