Associations between waist circumference, central obesity, and the presence of non-valvular atrial fibrillation...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Public Health
• Obesity Research

Background:

• Atrial fibrillation (AF) is linked to waist circumference (WC).
• The relationship between WC, central obesity (CO), and non-valvular AF (NVAF) with heart failure is not well-defined.
• This study investigates WC and CO as predictors for NVAF patients experiencing heart failure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the association between waist circumference (WC) and central obesity (CO) with heart failure in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients.
• To compare the predictive capabilities of WC and CO for heart failure in NVAF patients.
• To establish optimal WC cut-off values for identifying heart failure risk in NVAF patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 3,435 NVAF patients.
• Analysis of waist circumference (WC) and central obesity (CO) as independent variables for predicting NVAF with heart failure.
• Utilized univariate, multiple regression, ROC curve analysis, and subgroup analysis.

Main Results:

• Identified multiple risk factors including sex, BMI, WC, CO, and various biomarkers.
• Increased WC (1 cm) correlated with a 10% rise in NVAF with heart failure risk; CO showed a 2.8-fold increased risk.
• WC demonstrated superior predictive value (AUC), sensitivity, and accuracy over CO, with specific cut-off values for males (91.85 cm) and females (93.15 cm).

Conclusions:

• Waist circumference (WC) is a significant predictor of heart failure in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients.
• WC offers better predictive performance than central obesity (CO) for this patient group.
• Findings can inform improved management strategies for NVAF patients with abdominal obesity.