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AF risk higher among non-Hispanic white adults
Independent of socioeconomic status, non-Hispanic white adults were at higher risk for atrial fibrillation compared with Hispanic and black adults, according to published findings.
“It is known that both the incidence and risk burden of AF vary by racial/ethnic groups and [socioeconomic status],” Eric Shulman, MD, resident physician at Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, and colleagues wrote. “For example, despite having a higher burden of traditional AF risk factors, African Americans and Hispanics have a lower incidence of AF when compared to non-Hispanic whites. This has been referred to as the ‘racial paradox.’ Underdiagnosis of AF in minorities due to lower individual [socioeconomic status] and poorer access to health care could explain this racial paradox.”
Shulman and colleagues included participants without AF at baseline from a Montefiore Medical Center cohort. Participants were followed up for a maximum of 10 years. Race/ethnicity information was self-reported and socioeconomic status was determined for each neighborhood by ZIP code.
Of the 48,631 participants included in the study (43% Hispanic, 37% black, 20% white; mean age, 59 years), 4,556 had reported cases of AF.
In a log-rank test, Hispanic and black participants had lower AF risk in all socioeconomic status deciles (P < .001).
Higher socioeconomic status was borderline associated with lower AF risk (HR = 0.99; 95% CI, 0.98-1.001). The P-value was not significant by any race/ethnic group for a trend among socioeconomic deciles and AF.
“These results suggested that lower [socioeconomic status] in African Americans and Hispanics compared with non-Hispanic whites may not have been a major determinant of the demonstrated racial/ethnic differences in AF incidence,” the researchers wrote. “Our findings that [socioeconomic status] does not influence the relation between ethnicity and AF is further supported with no significant difference between either our original regression model or model with an interaction term between [socioeconomic status] and race/ethnicity.” – by Cassie Homer
Disclosures: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.