PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Lars Jøran Kjerpeseth
AU  - Jannicke Igland
AU  - Randi Selmer
AU  - Hanne Ellekjær
AU  - Arnljot Tveit
AU  - Trygve Berge
AU  - Silje Madeleine Kalstø
AU  - Ingrid Elisabeth Christophersen
AU  - Marius Myrstad
AU  - Eva Skovlund
AU  - Grace Margrethe Egeland
AU  - Grethe Seppola Tell
AU  - Inger Ariansen
TI  - Prevalence and incidence rates of atrial fibrillation in Norway 2004–2014
AID  - 10.1136/heartjnl-2020-316624
DP  - 2021 Feb 01
TA  - Heart
PG  - 201--207
VI  - 107
IP  - 3
4099  - http://heart.bmj.com/content/107/3/201.short
4100  - http://heart.bmj.com/content/107/3/201.full
SO  - Heart2021 Feb 01; 107
AB  - Objective To study time trends in incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in the entire Norwegian population from 2004 to 2014, by age and sex, and to estimate the prevalence of AF at the end of the study period.Methods A national cohort of patients with AF (≥18 years) was identified from inpatient admissions with AF and deaths with AF as underlying cause (1994–2014), and AF outpatient visits (2008–2014) in the Cardiovascular Disease in Norway (CVDNOR) project. AF admissions or out-of-hospital death from AF, with no AF admission the previous 10 years defined incident AF. Age-standardised incidence rates (IR) and incidence rate ratios (IRR) were calculated. All AF cases identified through inpatient admissions and outpatient visits and alive as of 31 December 2014 defined AF prevalence.Results We identified 175 979 incident AF cases (30% primary diagnosis, 69% secondary diagnosis, 0.6% out-of-hospital deaths). AF IRs (95% confidence intervals) per 100 000 person years were stable from 2004 (433 (426–440)) to 2014 (440 (433–447)). IRs were stable or declining across strata of sex and age with the exception of an average yearly increase of 2.4% in 18–44 year-olds: IRR 1.024 (1.014–1.034). In 2014, the prevalence of AF in the adult population was 3.4%.Conclusions We found overall stable IRs of AF for the adult Norwegian population from 2004 to 2014. The prevalence of AF was 3.4% at the end of 2014, which is higher than reported in previous studies. Signs of an increasing incidence of early-onset AF (<45 years) are worrying and need further investigation.