The authors found shifting patterns in the effects of obesity, alcohol, and smoking on atrial fibrillation.
An analysis of a global data set shows the burden of atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL) climbed sharply between 1990 and 2019, with women accounting for much of the increase, and factors such as obesity and alcohol use replacing smoking as key drivers of the disease, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Investigators used the Global Burden of Disease data set, along with information from the World Health Organization and the World Bank to gain a comprehensive look at AF and AFL, which cause strokes and heart failure and are associated with rising health care costs, morbidity, and mortality. The underlying data were collected by more than 9000 researchars in 160 countries, and show the following:
Deaths from these conditions have climbed 202.3% in upper middle-income countries and by 227.4% in lower middle-income countries; while in low-income countries, deaths have risen 162.3%. Absolute numbers of deaths are still highest in upper income countries and they rose 131.3%. The numbers in high income countries are driven by the fact that so many more women have AF/AFL, according to the study authors.
Why the increase in cases? The most obvious reason is the overall growth in population, but other reasons are complex, the authors say. “National income groups are defined by economic factors, but there are further characteristics that differ between income groups,” they wrote, “Some are related to income, such as socioeconomic status and health care infrastructure, others are independent, such as geographic and thus also racial differences.”
More cases are occurring among younger individuals in low- and middle-income countries, and among more older persons in high-income countries. Even greater age disparities can be seen between income groups in deaths, they write.
Some risk factors, such as age, are not modifiable, but others are—and those are shifting.
“Risk factors such as BMI, alcohol consumption, and insufficient physical activity show a clear trend toward higher rates in high-income countries,” the authors found. “Raised fasting blood glucose and current tobacco use have the highest rates in middle-income countries,” and elevated blood pressure is now easing as income rises, “which is a new trend.”
The investigators note there is considerable underrepresentation of low- and middle-income countries in research on AF/AFL, and it not well-known how much research from high-income countries can be generalized for these populations.
Reference
Ohlrogge AH, Brederecke J, Schnabel RB. Global burden of atrial fibrillation and flutter by national income: results from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Database. J Am Heart Assoc. 2023;12:e030438. Doi:10.1161/JAHA.123.030438
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