Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation reduces one-year risk of atrial fibrillation in patients hospitalized with myocardial infarction.
OBJECTIVE
Current strategies for avoiding atrial fibrillation (AF) are of limited value. We aim to assess the relationship between omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) and AF occurrence in post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients.


METHODS
A population study, linking hospital discharge records, prescription databases, and vital statistics, was conducted and included all consecutive patients with MI (ICD-9: 410) in six Italian local health authorities over a 3-year period. A propensity score (PS)-based, 5-to-1, greedy 1:1 matching algorithm was used to check consistency of results. Sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the robustness of findings.


RESULTS
N-3 PUFA reduced the relative risk of the hospitalization for AF [hazard ratio (HR) 0.19, 95% CI 0.07-0.51] and was associated with a further and complementary reduction in all-cause mortality (HR 0.15, 95% CI 0.05-0.46). PS-based matched analysis and sensitivity analysis confirmed the main results.


CONCLUSIONS
n-3 PUFA reduced both all-cause mortality and incidence of 1-year AF in patients hospitalized with MI.
Macchia
Alejandro
A
Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Epidemiology, Santa Maria Imbaro, Chieti, Italy. macchia@negrisud.it
Monte
Simona
S
Pellegrini
Fabio
F
Romero
Marilena
M
Ferrante
Daniel
D
Doval
Hernán
H
D'Ettorre
Antonio
A
Maggioni
Aldo Pietro
AP
Tognoni
Gianni
G
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications*; D012306:Risk
D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3