Download This Paper
Preprints with The Lancet is a collaboration between The Lancet Group of journals and SSRN to facilitate the open sharing of preprints for early engagement, community comment, and collaboration. Preprints available here are not Lancet publications or necessarily under review with a Lancet journal. These preprints are early-stage research papers that have not been peer-reviewed. The usual SSRN checks and a Lancet-specific check for appropriateness and transparency have been applied. The findings should not be used for clinical or public health decision-making or presented without highlighting these facts. For more information, please see the FAQs.
Prevalence and Risk of Atrial Fibrillation in China: A National Cross-Sectional Epidemiological Study
18 Pages Posted: 6 Dec 2021
More...Abstract
Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common persistent cardiac arrhythmia. Little is known about the national prevalence and risk factors for AF in adults aged 18 years or older in China.
Methods: Study data were derived from a nationally representative sample from July 2020 to September 2021. Participants were recruited using a multistage stratified sampling method from twenty-two Chinese provinces. AF was determined based on a history of diagnosed AF or electrocardiogram results.
Findings: A total of 114,039 respondents were included in the final analysis with a mean age of 55 years (standard deviation 17). In total, 52.1% of respondents were female. In total, 2.3% (95% CI 2.2-2.4) of the study sample had AF. The prevalence of AF was 2.6% (2.5-2.7%) among men, 2.0% (1.9-2.1%) among women, 2.3% (2.2-2.4%) among individuals living in urban areas and 2.3% (2.1-2.5%) among individuals living in rural areas. The age-standardized prevalence of AF was 1.6% (95% CI 1.6-1.7%) overall and 1.7% (1.6-1.8%), 1.4% (1.3-1.5%), 1.6% (95% CI 1.5-1.7%), and 1.7% (1.6-1.9%) in men, women, urban areas, and rural areas, respectively. The risk of AF was significantly associated with age (per 10 years), male sex, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, coronary heart disease, chronic heart failure, and stroke/transient ischaemic attack.
Interpretation: AF has increased substantially in the past two decades in China. It is crucial to increase the awareness of AF and disseminate standardized treatment in clinical settings to reduce the disease burden.
Funding Information: This research was supported the Nature Science Foundation of Hubei province (No: 2017CFB204).
Declaration of Interests: All authors declare no competing interests.
Ethics Approval Statement: The study protocol was approved by the Institutional Committee on Human Research at Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University (Wuhan, China). Written informed consent was obtained from all study participants.
Keywords: Atrial fibrillation, Prevalence, Risk factors, Adults, China
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation