Characteristics of patients with AF hospitalisations
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | P value for trend | |
| Total Korean AF population, n | 269 448 | 315 854 | 359 695 | 402 024 | 442 657 | 481 682 | 520 070 | 558 651 | 598 614 | 639 349 | |
| Patients with hospitalisations, n (%) | 16 639 (6.2) | 20 539 (6.5) | 24 948 (6.9) | 28 345 (8.2) | 33 214 (7.1) | 36 025 (7.5) | 41 421 (8.0) | 46 012 (8.2) | 51 223 (8.6) | 58 160 (9.1) | <0.001 |
| Sex, % | |||||||||||
| Male | 55.4 | 54.8 | 53.9 | 54.6 | 54.3 | 54.3 | 54.1 | 54.0 | 53.9 | 53.6 | <0.001 |
| Female | 44.6 | 45.2 | 46.1 | 45.4 | 45.7 | 45.7 | 45.9 | 46.0 | 46.1 | 46.4 | <0.001 |
| Age, mean (SE) | 69.5 (0.9) | 70.0 (0.8) | 70.6 (0.7) | 70.9 (0.7) | 71.1 (0.6) | 71.4 (0.6) | 71.9 (0.5) | 72.3 (0.3) | 72.9 (0.5) | 73.3 (0.5) | <0.001 |
| 20–49 years, % | 6.0 | 5.8 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.4 | <0.001 |
| 50–59 years, % | 10.9 | 10.5 | 9.8 | 9.9 | 10.0 | 10.1 | 10.2 | 10.0 | 9.4 | 8.9 | <0.001 |
| 60–69 years, % | 27.7 | 26.2 | 24.7 | 23.9 | 22.9 | 22.2 | 20.9 | 19.5 | 18.5 | 18.3 | <0.001 |
| 70–79 years, % | 37.5 | 38.4 | 39.2 | 39.0 | 39.3 | 38.9 | 38.8 | 39.5 | 38.9 | 37.6 | <0.001 |
| ≥80 years, % | 18.0 | 19.1 | 21.0 | 22.2 | 23.0 | 24.4 | 25.9 | 27.4 | 29.7 | 31.9 | <0.001 |
| Economic status, % | |||||||||||
| Low | 45.1 | 46.3 | 45.3 | 44.1 | 42.9 | 42.5 | 41.2 | 39.9 | 38.1 | 36.5 | <0.001 |
| Intermediate | 20.9 | 20.6 | 25.0 | 24.3 | 24.1 | 24.0 | 24.1 | 24.2 | 24.2 | 24.4 | <0.001 |
| High | 34.0 | 33.2 | 29.7 | 31.6 | 32.9 | 33.5 | 34.7 | 35.9 | 37.7 | 39.1 | <0.001 |
| Practice level of initial AF diagnosis | |||||||||||
| Primary care hospital | 3.7 | 4.5 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 6.6 | 7.5 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 9.2 | <0.001 |
| Secondary care hospital | 9.7 | 9.9 | 10.7 | 12.3 | 12.6 | 11.2 | 9.8 | 9.4 | 9.7 | 9.5 | <0.001 |
| Tertiary referral hospital | 85.3 | 83.4 | 82.4 | 80.0 | 79.2 | 79.5 | 79.9 | 79.7 | 79.0 | 78.8 | <0.001 |
| Others (nursing/public health centre) | 1.3 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.4 | <0.001 |
| Comorbidities, % | |||||||||||
| Heart failure | 69.6 | 70.2 | 69.5 | 69.8 | 69.6 | 70.4 | 70.8 | 71.4 | 72.8 | 73.8 | <0.001 |
| Hypertension | 95.3 | 95.8 | 96.0 | 96.4 | 96.3 | 96.1 | 96.3 | 96.6 | 96.6 | 96.6 | <0.001 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 36.2 | 37.4 | 38.9 | 39.8 | 40.8 | 41.7 | 42.5 | 42.9 | 43.5 | 44.2 | <0.001 |
| Previous ischaemic stroke | 37.3 | 39.4 | 41.6 | 42.9 | 44.3 | 45.4 | 46.3 | 47.4 | 47.6 | 48.1 | <0.001 |
| Previous MI | 25.7 | 25.7 | 25.4 | 25.1 | 24.3 | 22.8 | 22.0 | 21.6 | 21.0 | 20.9 | <0.001 |
| PAD | 12.9 | 14.4 | 16.6 | 19.3 | 21.2 | 22.5 | 23.6 | 24.6 | 25.7 | 26.1 | <0.001 |
| Previous major bleeding* | 13.9 | 15.6 | 16.8 | 17.9 | 18.2 | 18.2 | 18.7 | 19.0 | 19.3 | 19.2 | <0.001 |
| COPD | 43.7 | 46.3 | 48.1 | 49.2 | 50.0 | 50.4 | 51.3 | 52.0 | 52.6 | 52.6 | <0.001 |
| CKD | 10.8 | 11.7 | 12.2 | 13.5 | 13.7 | 14.0 | 15.4 | 16.5 | 16.8 | 18.1 | <0.001 |
| CHA2DS2-VASc score, mean (SE) | 4.75 (0.02) | 4.88 (0.01) | 5.02 (0.01) | 5.09 (0.01) | 5.15 (0.01) | 5.19 (0.01) | 5.26 (0.01) | 5.33 (0.01) | 5.40 (0.01) | 5.45 (0.01) | <0.001 |
| HAS-BLED score, mean (SE) | 3.08 (0.01) | 3.20 (0.01) | 3.28 (0.01) | 3.35 (0.01) | 3.38 (0.01) | 3.41 (0.01) | 3.43 (0.01) | 3.46 (0.01) | 3.48 (0.01) | 3.48 (0.01) | <0.001 |
*Major bleeding includes intracranial bleeding and gastrointestinal bleeding.
AF, atrial fibrillation; CKD, chronic kidney disease; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; MI, myocardial infarction; PAD, peripheral artery disease.