Individuals with obesity are more likely to develop atrial fibrillation (AFib), according to a study published April 18 in the American Journal of Cardiology.
The researchers found—after adjusting for known AFib factors, including age, gender, hypertension and diabetes—obese subjects were 40 percent more likely to develop new-onset AFib.
“Based on our results, in middle-aged adults, obesity confers an independent risk of new-onset AFib (40 percent) that is nearly equal to that of hypertension (45 percent) and diabetes (51 percent),” wrote lead author Andrew J. Foy, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and colleagues.
Researchers from Penn State followed more than 67,000 study subjects, both with and without an obesity diagnosis) over the course of eight years to assess the relation between obesity and new-onset AFib.
In comparison to their healthy-weight counterparts, obese study subjects were more likely to have hypertension (29.5 versus 14.6 percent) and diabetes (12.7 versus 5.2 percent) at the onset of the study.
Over the eight years of follow-up, a new diagnosis of AFib was recorded in 1,511 subjects—915 were in the obese cohort, while 596 were in the non-obese cohort—even when controlling for age, gender, hypertension and diabetes.
The researchers found yearly cases of new-onset AFib increased steadily over time in both groups. The cumulative incidence of AFib also increased.
“Thus, prevention of obesity would reduce the burden of atrial fibrillation, which is increasing in Western countries,” the authors wrote. “And once obesity is established, weight loss has been shown to not only reduce atrial fibrillation symptoms and episodes, but also to improve cardiac risk factors such as blood pressure, glycemic indices and lipid profiles. A focus on obesity prevention and treatment should be an important focus of public health.”
As a senior news writer for TriMed, Subrata covers cardiology, clinical innovation and healthcare business. She has a master’s degree in communication management and 12 years of experience in journalism and public relations.