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Smoking increases risk for AF
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Patients who smoked had an increased risk for atrial fibrillation, although the dose-dependent association was weakened in those who were former smokers, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
“Our results provide further evidence of the health benefits of quitting smoking and, even better, to never start smoking in the first place,” Dagfinn Aune, PhD, MS, postdoctoral researcher at Imperial College London and associate professor at Bjørknes University College in Oslo, Norway, said in a press release. “This is important from a public health perspective to prevent atrial fibrillation and many other chronic diseases.”
Researchers analyzed data from 29 prospective studies that assessed the link between smoking and the risk for AF. These studies included adjusted estimates of the RR, and researchers calculated summary RR for AF by smoking status, pack-years and cigarettes smoked per day.
Compared with patients who never smoked, the summary RR for current smokers was 1.32 (95% CI, 1.12-1.56; I2 = 84%), 1.09 for former smokers (95% CI, 1-1.18; I2 = 33%) and 1.21 for those who ever smoked (95% CI, 1.12-1.31; I2 = 80%).
The summary RR was 1.33 (95% CI, 1.14-1.56; I2 = 78%) when patients who currently smoked were compared with those who were not current smokers.
Each 10 cigarettes smoked per day was associated with a summary RR of 1.14 (95% CI, 1.1-1.2; I2 = 0%), and every 10 pack-years was linked to a summary RR of 1.16 (95% CI, 1.09-1.25; I2 = 49%).
A nonlinear association was not seen for the number of cigarettes per day.
“Any further studies should include analyses of the number of cigarettes smoked, duration, pack-years and time since smoking cessation in relation to atrial fibrillation and should adjust for more confounding factors,” Aune and colleagues wrote. – by Darlene Dobkowski
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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