TY - JOUR
T1 - Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease and Atrial Fibrillation
T2 - A Nationwide Population-Based Study
AU - Huang, Chin Chou
AU - Chan, Wan Leong
AU - Luo, Jiing Chyuan
AU - Chen, Yu Chun
AU - Chen, Tzeng Ji
AU - Chung, Chia Min
AU - Huang, Po Hsun
AU - Lin, Shing Jong
AU - Chen, Jaw Wen
AU - Leu, Hsin Bang
PY - 2012/10/15
Y1 - 2012/10/15
N2 - Objectives: Precise mechanisms of atrial fibrillation (AF) are uncertain, but their association with esophageal disorders has been recently proposed. The association between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), the most common gastroesophageal disorder, and AF remains undetermined. We therefore aimed to investigate the association between GERD and later development of AF. Methods and Results: Patients with GERD were identified from the 1,000,000-person cohort dataset sampled from the Taiwan National Health Insurance database. The study cohort comprised 29,688 newly diagnosed adult GERD patients; 29,597 randomly selected age-, gender-, comobidity-matched subjects comprised the comparison cohort. Cox proportional hazard regressions were performed as a means of comparing the AF-free survival rate for the two cohorts. During a maximum three years of follow-up, a total of 351 patients experienced AF, including 184 (0.62%) patients in the GERD cohort and 167 (0.56%) in the control group. The log-rank test showed that patients with GERD had significantly higher incidence of AF than those without GERD (p = 0.024). After Cox proportional hazard regression model analysis, GERD was independently associated with the increased risk of AF (hazard ratio, 1.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-1.61, p = 0.013). Conclusion: GERD was independently associated with an increased risk of future AF in a nationwide population-based cohort.
AB - Objectives: Precise mechanisms of atrial fibrillation (AF) are uncertain, but their association with esophageal disorders has been recently proposed. The association between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), the most common gastroesophageal disorder, and AF remains undetermined. We therefore aimed to investigate the association between GERD and later development of AF. Methods and Results: Patients with GERD were identified from the 1,000,000-person cohort dataset sampled from the Taiwan National Health Insurance database. The study cohort comprised 29,688 newly diagnosed adult GERD patients; 29,597 randomly selected age-, gender-, comobidity-matched subjects comprised the comparison cohort. Cox proportional hazard regressions were performed as a means of comparing the AF-free survival rate for the two cohorts. During a maximum three years of follow-up, a total of 351 patients experienced AF, including 184 (0.62%) patients in the GERD cohort and 167 (0.56%) in the control group. The log-rank test showed that patients with GERD had significantly higher incidence of AF than those without GERD (p = 0.024). After Cox proportional hazard regression model analysis, GERD was independently associated with the increased risk of AF (hazard ratio, 1.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-1.61, p = 0.013). Conclusion: GERD was independently associated with an increased risk of future AF in a nationwide population-based cohort.
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0047575
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0047575
M3 - Article
C2 - 23077642
AN - SCOPUS:84867553871
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 7
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 10
M1 - e47575
ER -