November 3, 2017Journal of EpidemiologyOpen Access

Trend of Prevalence of Atrial Fibrillation and use of Oral Anticoagulation Therapy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation in South Korea (2002–2013)

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Structured PICO

Population

Subjects aged ≥30 years in the South Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC) database from 2002 to 2013 (over 570,000 eligible annually, n=670,040 in 2013 with 5,213 AF patients).

Outcome

Annual prevalence of atrial fibrillation, associated comorbidities, and rate of warfarin therapy

The prevalence of atrial fibrillation in South Korea increased significantly from 2002 to 2013, yet oral anticoagulation with warfarin remained substantially underutilized in high-risk patients.

Limitations

Included patients with atrial flutter due to KCD-6 codes
Could not distinguish between persistent and paroxysmal AF
Potential misclassification of diagnoses based on codes without ECG validation

Implication

AF prevalence rose sharply in South Korea with low warfarin use; extends prior trends but leaves open how to address anticoagulation gaps.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: This study examined the annual prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) and its associated comorbidities, as well as the prevalence of warfarin therapy in South Korean patients with AF. METHODS: -VASc score and comorbidities. RESULTS: -VASc score of ≥2; however, only 39.1% of these were receiving warfarin. CONCLUSIONS: The age-standardized prevalence of AF increased 2.89-fold over the 12-year study period. The total number of patients with AF in South Korea has been drastically increasing, due to not only aging society but also increasing age-specific prevalence of AF, especially in middle-aged and elderly individuals. The rate of warfarin therapy increased slightly over the study period but remains low.