Is the risk of atrial fibrillation higher in athletes than in the general population? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to examine by a systematic literature review and meta-analysis whether the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) is higher in athletes compared with not athletes.


RESULTS
A comprehensive systematic search was conducted for case-control studies that examined cases of AF or atrial flutter in athletes vs. controls. Extracted data from the eligible studies were meta-analysed using fixed effects model. Six case-control studies were eligible for meta-analysis. A total of 655 athletes and 895 controls were compared. Mean age was 51+/-9 years and 93% were men. There were 147 (23%) vs. 116 (12.5%) cases of AF among athletes compared with controls. The overall risk of AF was significantly higher in athletes than in controls with odds ratio (95% confidence interval)=5.29 (3.57-7.85), P=0.0001, and Z-score=8.08. For heterogeneity, the calculated chi2=2.92, P=0.633, and I2=0% were not significant.


CONCLUSIONS
The risk of AF is significantly higher in athletes compared with not athletes. However, this finding should be confirmed further in large-scale prospective longitudinal studies.
Abdulla
Jawdat
J
Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Glostrup University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark. ja@heart.dk
Nielsen
Jens Rokkedal
JR
D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D013177:Sports / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*