Atrial fibrillation and obesity among older Chinese: the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study.
BACKGROUND
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common form of arrhythmia, and its prevalence is increasing. Few studies have examined its association with obesity as defined by different criteria, particularly in developing countries. We investigated the association between atrial fibrillation (AF) and obesity indices among older Chinese.


METHODS
We conducted a community-based nested case control study using cross-sectional data of 5882 men and 14,548 women aged 50 or above from Phases I and II (September 2003 to May 2006) of the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study (GBCS). AF cases were identified by the 12-lead body surface electrocardiogram.


RESULTS
159 AF cases (65 men and 94 women) were identified from 19,964 participants with ECG records. 9249 participants with other abnormal ECG findings were excluded, resulting in a case control comparison on 159 AF cases and 10,369 controls. After multivariate adjustment, BMI (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.06 per kg/m(2), 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.01-1.11) and waist circumference (adjusted OR 1.02 per cm (1.00-1.04)) were significant risk factors. The adjusted OR per Z-score [(individual value-mean)/standard deviation] for BMI and waist circumference was 1.21 (1.03-1.41) and 1.18 (1.01-1.38) respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first report showing that both general and central obesity are associated with increased risk of AF in an Eastern population with much lower level of obesity than in the West. As both AF and obesity are increasing in developing countries, the results should have important public health implications.
Long
Mei Jing
MJ
Department of Community Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Jiang
Chao Qiang
CQ
Lam
Tai Hing
TH
Xu
Lin
L
Zhang
Wei Sen
WS
Lin
Jie Ming
JM
Ou
Jian Ping
JP
Cheng
Kar Keung
KK
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D055105:Waist Circumference / Q000502:physiology