Epidemiological Characteristics of Atrial Fibrillation in Southern China: Results from the Guangzhou Heart Study

Abstract

Precise prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) and the associated risk factors in southern China are rarely reported. This large population-based follow-up study, the Guangzhou Heart Study, was conducted from 2015 to 2017 to fill up this gap. Permanent residents aged 35 years and above in Guangzhou city were enrolled and demographic factors of participants were collected by a structured questionnaire. Examinations of physical, electrocardiographic and biochemical indicators were performed following a standard operation procedure designed prior to the field investigation. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate basic characteristics of the study participants, and multivariate logistic regression model was performed to assess the AF prevalence-related factors. The detailed study design, the baseline characteristics and the prevalence of AF were reported here. In total, 12,013 residents were enrolled, and the percentage of participants from rural and urban areas was 53.92% and 46.08%, respectively. In total, 90.57% participants aged 40–79 years old and the proportion of women was more than men (64.98% vs. 35.02%). Overall, the prevalence of AF among the participants was 1.46%. Increasing age, male sex and widowed marital status were associated with higher AF prevalence (P-value < 0.05). The prevalence of AF increased with age and climbed to approximately 5% in residents aged 80 years and over. Residents with abnormal higher blood level of total cholesterol tended to have a lower AF prevalence but a higher prevalence of AF was observed in female participants with lower level of high density lipoprotein cholesterol land higher level uric acid (all P-value < 0.05). Personal illness such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke and transient ischemic were significantly linked to the attack of AF (all P-value < 0.05). This study will be rich resource for investigating environmental exposure and individual genetic diathesis of AF and other common cardiovascular diseases in Chinese population.

Epidemiology of atrial fibrillation in northeast China: a cross-sectional study, 2017–2019

“…In total, 19 rural villages and 8 communities were randomly selected from these four counties and three cities. All permanent residents (individuals registered in the Local Household Register System and living in the selected communities for ≥6 months when the study began)12 aged ≥40 years in each village and community (n=22 009) were eligible to participate, except those who were pregnant or had a mental disorder; in total, 18 796 (85.4%) participants ultimately completed the study (figure 1).…”

High prevalence of hyperuricaemia and its impact on non-valvular atrial fibrillation: the cross-sectional Guangzhou (China) Heart Study

“…Blood samples were collected and tested following standardised procedures by an authorised medical laboratory. ECG and 24-hour single-lead ECG were recorded for each participant and reports were assessed by two independent cardiologists; methodological details were as reported by Deng et al 14. A total of 29 196 residents were eligible for inclusion, of whom 12 013 residents participated in the study; the response rate was therefore 41.16%.…”

Adenosine and the Cardiovascular System: The Good and the Bad

“…Peripheral APL is also high in permanent AF, and this finding has been attributed to peripheral hypoxemia caused by the decrease in left ventricular output [64]. High serum uric acid, the final product of adenosine metabolism, was found to be associated with AF [65][66][67]. A 2A receptors are expressed in the right atrium in humans, and their distribution overlaps ryanodine receptors [46].…”