RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Prevalence and incidence rates of atrial fibrillation in Norway 2004–2014
JF Heart
JO Heart
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Cardiovascular Society
SP 201
OP 207
DO 10.1136/heartjnl-2020-316624
VO 107
IS 3
A1 Lars Jøran Kjerpeseth
A1 Jannicke Igland
A1 Randi Selmer
A1 Hanne Ellekjær
A1 Arnljot Tveit
A1 Trygve Berge
A1 Silje Madeleine Kalstø
A1 Ingrid Elisabeth Christophersen
A1 Marius Myrstad
A1 Eva Skovlund
A1 Grace Margrethe Egeland
A1 Grethe Seppola Tell
A1 Inger Ariansen
YR 2021
UL http://heart.bmj.com/content/107/3/201.abstract
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.