Obesity Linked to Atrial Fibrillation Risk

Body mass index (BMI) appears to be strongly correlated with the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), particularly sustained episodes of the arrhythmia. Investigators from Puget Sound Veterans Affairs Health Care System and University of Washington in Seattle conducted a population-based case-control study that included 425 people with new-onset AF and 707 people in a control group. Medical record review provided additional data on cardiovascular risk factors.

The researchers found that, on average, each unit increment in BMI was associated with a 3% increase in the risk of AF. When the arrhythmia was further broken down, they found that each incremental unit of BMI was linked to a 7% increase in sustained AF that lasted ≥6 months, a 3% increase in intermittent AF, and a 4% increase for transitory AF that lasted 8 days.

Compared with a person with a normal BMI, a person who is obese has about 34% greater risk of AF, while people in the heaviest BMI category have 2.3 times the risk. When diabetes was factored in, the risk per unit of BMI was reduced, suggesting a mediating effect.

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