November 10, 2018
2 min read
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AF admissions increase at start of daylight saving time
Jay Chudow
CHICAGO — Atrial fibrillation admissions were more likely to occur in the beginning of daylight saving time compared with the end of daylight saving time, according to an abstract presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.
“Our study adds atrial fibrillation as a known condition associated with daylight saving time,” Jay Chudow, MD, resident at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York, told Cardiology Today. “It adds to the knowledge base of negative health consequences of daylight saving time.”
Researchers analyzed data from 6,296 patients (mean age, 68 years; 53% women) who were admitted for AF from 2009 to 2016.
More patients with AF were admitted on the Monday through Thursday following the start of daylight saving time compared with the yearly mean of the same time period (3.13 admissions per day vs. 2.56 admissions per day; P = .025). This increase was not observed in the Monday through Thursday after daylight saving time ended.
Atrial fibrillation admissions were more likely to occur in the beginning of daylight saving time compared with the end of daylight saving time.
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“The exact link between atrial fibrillation and daylight saving time transitions is not clear,” Chudow said in an interview. “It may be similar to the association between atrial fibrillation and sleep-breathing disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea. Further research is needed to explore these connections.” – by Darlene Dobkowski
Reference:
Chudow J, et al. Poster Sa1086. Presented at: American Heart Association Scientific Sessions; Nov. 10-12, 2018; Chicago.
Disclosure: Chudow reports no relevant financial disclosures.
Perspective
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Ian J. Neeland, MD, FAHA
This study adds to the existing body of literature demonstrating a relationship between circadian and seasonal variation and CV events. This study suggests that AF hospitalizations in the Bronx, New York, were significantly increased during the week after the spring daylight saving time transition compared with the yearly mean, whereas no increase in AF admissions were seen in the fall daylight saving time transition. Given that AF is associated with disturbed sleep patterns and stress, these findings might theoretically relate to a susceptible environmental-patient interaction during the spring daylight saving time transition that leads to higher risk for AF admission.
Patients, especially those at higher risk for AF, should be careful to maintain good sleep hygiene during the daylight saving time transitions.
These findings require validation in additional populations and physiological studies to understand the potential underlying mechanisms are needed to better understand the pathophysiology behind daylight saving time disturbances.
There are several limitations of the study and several aspects that are not clear. Where are these data derived from? It seems from Montefiore Medical Center, but it is not stated directly. It is important to validate these findings in additional hospital populations. This is an ideal study for the ACC registry-based data. Were all AF admissions included? How were elective admissions for cardioversion or ablation handled? Clearly these are not admitted on weekends. Also, it is possible that more procedures are done in the springtime, which confounds the observations. The ideal way to handle these issues would be to exclude elective admissions and just count AF admissions for uncontrolled rate/symptoms given the physiological plausibility. Why were Sundays excluded? Why were Fridays and Saturdays excluded from the main statistical comparison
Ian J. Neeland, MD, FAHA
Cardiology Today Next Gen Innovator
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Dedman Family Scholar in Clinical Care
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Disclosures: Neeland reports no relevant financial disclosures.