title: Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor and risk of atrial fibrillation.
abstract: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is expressed by endothelial cells and can affect cardiovascular function. We examined if serum BDNF was associated with risk of incident atrial fibrillation (AF) in the Framingham Heart Study.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied individuals without an AF diagnosis at baseline from the Framingham original and offspring cohorts. We used age- and sex-adjusted, and multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models to examine the association of serum BDNF concentrations with 10-year risk of incident AF.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We studied 3,457 participants (mean age 65±11years, 58% women). During follow-up, 395 participants developed AF. In unadjusted analysis, higher mean serum BDNF concentration was associated with lower incidence of AF (hazard ratio 0.89 per SD, 95% CI 0.80-0.99). In multivariable-adjusted analyses, serum BDNF concentration was not significantly associated with incident AF (hazard ratio 0.98 per SD, 95% CI 0.88-1.09). Compared with the lowest quartile, BDNF levels in the other quartiles were not associated with risk of AF in multivariable-adjusted analyses. No interactions between sex or age with serum BDNF concentrations and risk of AF were found.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our prospective, community-based sample, we did not find a statistically significant association of serum BDNF levels with risk of incident AF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Faisal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.affiliation: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA.|Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Jayandra J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Himali
authors.affiliation: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA.|Department of Biostatistics, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.|Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA.|Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.|Department of Biostatistics, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Alexa S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Beiser
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Patrick T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Ellinor
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Steven A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Lubitz
authors.affiliation: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA.|Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.|Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Ramachandran S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Vasan
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, UPMC Heart & Vascular Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Jared W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Magnani
authors.affiliation: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA.|Departments of Medicine and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA, USA.|Department of Biomedical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: David D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: McManus
authors.affiliation: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA.|Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Sudha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seshadri
authors.affiliation: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's and Boston University's Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, USA.|Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.|Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Emelia J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Benjamin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; C579455:BDNF protein, human