TY - JOUR
T1 - Alcohol and incident atrial fibrillation – A systematic review and meta-analysis
AU - Gallagher, Celine
AU - Hendriks, Jeroen M.L.
AU - Elliott, Adrian D.
AU - Wong, Christopher X.
AU - Rangnekar, Geetanjali
AU - Middeldorp, Melissa E.
AU - Mahajan, Rajiv
AU - Lau, Dennis H.
AU - Sanders, Prashanthan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017
PY - 2017/11/1
Y1 - 2017/11/1
N2 - Background Whilst high levels of alcohol consumption are known to be associated with atrial fibrillation (AF), it is unclear if any level of alcohol consumption can be recommended to prevent the onset of the condition. The aim of this review is to characterise the association between chronic alcohol intake and incident AF. Methods and results Electronic literature searches were undertaken using PubMed and Embase databases up to 1 February 2016 to identify studies examining the impact of alcohol on the risk of incident AF. Prospective studies reporting on at least three levels of alcohol intake and published in English were eligible for inclusion. Studies of a retrospective or case control design were excluded. The primary study outcome was development of incident AF. Consistent with previous studies, high levels of alcohol intake were associated with an increased incident AF risk (HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.20–1.49, p < 0.001). Moderate levels of alcohol intake were associated with a heightened AF risk in males (HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.04–1.54, p = 0.02) but not females (HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.86–1.25, p = 0.74). Low alcohol intake, of up to 1 standard drink (SD) per day, was not associated with AF development (HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.85–1.06, p = 0.37). Conclusions Low levels of alcohol intake are not associated with the development of AF. Gender differences exist in the association between moderate alcohol intake and AF with males demonstrating greater increases in risk, whilst high alcohol intake is associated with a heightened AF risk across both genders.
AB - Background Whilst high levels of alcohol consumption are known to be associated with atrial fibrillation (AF), it is unclear if any level of alcohol consumption can be recommended to prevent the onset of the condition. The aim of this review is to characterise the association between chronic alcohol intake and incident AF. Methods and results Electronic literature searches were undertaken using PubMed and Embase databases up to 1 February 2016 to identify studies examining the impact of alcohol on the risk of incident AF. Prospective studies reporting on at least three levels of alcohol intake and published in English were eligible for inclusion. Studies of a retrospective or case control design were excluded. The primary study outcome was development of incident AF. Consistent with previous studies, high levels of alcohol intake were associated with an increased incident AF risk (HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.20–1.49, p < 0.001). Moderate levels of alcohol intake were associated with a heightened AF risk in males (HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.04–1.54, p = 0.02) but not females (HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.86–1.25, p = 0.74). Low alcohol intake, of up to 1 standard drink (SD) per day, was not associated with AF development (HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.85–1.06, p = 0.37). Conclusions Low levels of alcohol intake are not associated with the development of AF. Gender differences exist in the association between moderate alcohol intake and AF with males demonstrating greater increases in risk, whilst high alcohol intake is associated with a heightened AF risk across both genders.
KW - Alcohol
KW - Gender differences
KW - Incident atrial fibrillation
KW - Meta-analysis
KW - Patient outcomes
KW - Systematic review
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85028524775&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijcard.2017.05.133
DO - 10.1016/j.ijcard.2017.05.133
M3 - Article
C2 - 28867013
AN - SCOPUS:85028524775
SN - 0167-5273
VL - 246
SP - 46
EP - 52
JO - International Journal of Cardiology
JF - International Journal of Cardiology
ER -