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Anthropometric measures and the risk of developing atrial fibrillation: a Swedish Cohort Study
Isac Zia1, Linda Johnson2, Ensieh Memarian2
1Department of Clinical Sciences, IKVM, Lund's University, Jan Waldenströms gata 35, CRC, House 60, 13th Floor, 205 02, Malmö, Sweden. isac.zia@gmail.com.
Insights
Obesity increases atrial fibrillation (AF) risk. Overall obesity measures, like BMI, were more strongly linked to AF incidence than abdominal fat measurements in a large Swedish cohort study.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Epidemiology
- Obesity Research
Background:
- Obesity is a known risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including atrial fibrillation (AF).
- The relative importance of overall adiposity versus abdominal fat distribution in AF risk remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between various anthropometric measures of obesity and the risk of developing clinical AF.
- To compare the predictive power of overall obesity versus abdominal obesity for AF incidence.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the Malmö Diet and Cancer (MDC) cohort (n=25,961) with data collected between 1991-1996.
- Incident AF cases identified through national hospital discharge registers.
- Cox regression models were used to calculate Hazard Ratios (HRs) for AF across quartiles of BMI, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, waist-height ratio, body fat percentage, weight, and height, adjusted for key confounders.
Main Results:
- All assessed obesity measures were significantly associated with an increased risk of developing AF.
- Measures of overall obesity (BMI, weight) showed a stronger association with AF risk compared to measures of abdominal obesity (waist-hip ratio, waist-height ratio) in both men and women.
- Adjusted HRs for the highest quartile of weight were 2.02 for men and 1.93 for women; for BMI, they were 1.62 and 1.52, respectively.
Conclusions:
- Both overall and abdominal obesity are linked to an increased incidence of AF.
- The study suggests that overall obesity, as indicated by BMI and weight, may be a stronger predictor of AF risk than abdominal obesity in this population.
Aims:
Obesity is a risk factor for several cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including atrial fibrillation (AF). However, it is less clear whether overall fat or abdominal fat distribution are most important for risk of developing AF. This study investigates how different anthropometric measures correlate to the risk of developing clinical AF in the Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort (MDC-cohort).
Methods:
The MDC-cohort (n = 25,961) was examined in 1991-1996. The endpoint was clinical AF diagnosed in a hospital setting, and retrieved via linkage with national registers. Hazard Ratios (HR) for incident AF was calculated in relation to quartiles of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist hip ratio, waist height ratio, body fat percentage, weight and height, using Cox regression with adjustment for age, biological (e.g. blood pressure, diabetes, blood lipid levels), and socioeconomic risk factors.
Results:
After adjustment for multiple risk factors, the risk of AF was significantly increased in the 4th versus 1st quartile of weight (HR for men/women = 2.02/1.93), BMI (HR = 1.62/1.52), waist circumference (HR = 1.67/1.63), waist to hip ratio (HR = 1.30/1.24), waist to height ratio (1.37/1.39) and body fat percentage (HR = 1.21/1.45) in men/women. Measures of overall weight (BMI, weight) were slightly more predictive than measures of abdominal obesity (waist hip ratio and waist height ratio) both in men and women.
Conclusion:
All measures of obesity were associated with increased risk of developing AF. Both overall obesity and abdominal obesity were related to incidence of AF in this population-based study, although the relationship for overall obesity was stronger.
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