Key result
Poor self-rated health linked to ~40% higher risk of incident AF.
Why the study?
Self-rated health predicts mortality and cardiovascular disease, but its relation to incident atrial fibrillation is largely unknown.
Does worse self-rated health predict a higher risk of developing incident atrial fibrillation in community-dwelling adults?
Cohort (n=58,960)
Yes
Does worse self-rated health predict a higher risk of developing incident atrial fibrillation in community-dwelling adults?
Hazard Ratio: 1.4 (95% CI 1.26–1.55)
Self-rated health serves as an easily obtainable, low-cost metric that independently predicts the incidence of atrial fibrillation, capturing risks beyond traditional clinical risk factors.
Worse self-rated health may flag higher AF risk in community adults; leaves open its added value in prediction models beyond traditional factors.
Background: Self-rated health (SRH) is easy to obtain and is known to be a good predictor for mortality and several comorbidities, including cardiovascular disease, but its relation to atrial fibrillation (AF) is largely unknown. We determined the association of SRH with risk of developing AF. Methods: = 5037, mean age, 66 years) cohorts to examine the association of SRH with risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). We categorized SRH as "poor or fair", "good", or "very good or excellent". Incident AF was identified via visit electrocardiograms, hospital discharge codes, or Medicare claims. We used Cox regression to quantify the association of baseline SRH category and AF risk in each cohort. Models were adjusted for demographics, body mass index, tobacco use, alcohol, diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, and physical activity. We pooled the hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CIs using a fixed-effects model. Results: Over a mean of 16±6, 9 ± 2, and 10±4 years of follow-up, 2340 (22.8 %), 1525 (3.5 %), and 879 (17.4 %) incident AF events occurred in ARIC, HUNT-3, and MESA respectively. Lower SRH categories were associated with higher AF risk in each cohort and in the pooled analysis: HR 1.11 (95 % CI 1.02 to 1.20) for good SRH; and 1.40 (95 % CI, 1.26 to1.55) for fair or poor SRH compared to very good or excellent SRH. Conclusions: Worse SRH was independently associated with a higher risk of developing AF. SRH is an easily obtainable metric and may help to additionally identify individuals at higher risk for AF.
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Garg et al. (2025) conducted a cohort in Community-dwelling adults without baseline atrial fibrillation (n=58,960). Fair or poor self-rated health vs. Very good or excellent self-rated health was evaluated on Incident atrial fibrillation (HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.26-1.55). Fair or poor self-rated health was independently associated with a 40% higher risk of incident atrial fibrillation compared to very good or excellent self-rated health (HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.26-1.55).
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