trial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia that represents an independent and evident risk factor for systemic embolism, particularly ischemic stroke, and exerts a significant impact on post-stroke mortality. Interestingly, stroke caused by AF displays distinctive features, such as severe neurological deficits, disability and high mortality, 1 so AF is likely to play an important role in the etiology of perioperative and in-hospital-onset stroke. 2,3 Given the evidence accumulated over the past decade, AF seems to be becoming a greater public health burden and crucial problem for the social welfare of populations of advancing age.The prevalence of AF in adults ≥40 years old is reportedly 0.7% in Korea, which has largely maintained a traditional Asian lifestyle, and 2.3% in the United States. 4,5 In previous population-based studies, 2 implications have been identified: (1) AF is more frequent in men than in women in each generation; and (2) the prevalence of AF increases with age. Indeed, the prevalence of AF has been investigated in several countries, but many epidemiological uncertainties remain, particularly the prevalence in Japanese populations.Circulation Journal Vol.72, June 2008 In this analysis, the Kurashiki Annual Medical Survey (KAMS) was used to investigate the prevalence and clinical factors associated with AF in a large community-based epidemiological study.
MethodsThe KAMS study is a prospective population-based investigation of risk factors for AF in men and women aged ≥40 year old. We enrolled the 246,246 adult residents in Kurashiki-city who received an official mail request to participate in a screening health test from May to December 2006. The Kurashiki-city Public Health Center did not send this notification to employees of government, private companies, offices and factories because the Labor Standards Law has regulated that employers should survey the heath of their employees. After excluding residents who were employees, a total of 41,436 residents (mean age, 72.1±11.3 years; 13,963 men) participated in the KAMS study.All participants answered questions on history of illness (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, cardiac disease, renal dysfunction and liver disease) and smoking status, and underwent physical examinations including blood pressure, electrocardiography (ECG), and blood testing (total cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c). Body mass index was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Arterial blood pressure was carefully measured in the arm with the patient seated after resting for a few minutes, following the Guidelines of Elders' Welfare and Health in Kurashiki-city.
