Standardized Prevalence Ratios for Atrial Fibrillation in Adult Dialysis Patients in Japan

• Published in: Journal of epidemiology Vol. 26; no. 5; pp. 272 - 276
• Main Authors: Ohsawa, Masaki, Tanno, Kozo, Okamura, Tomonori, Yonekura, Yuki, Kato, Karen, Fujishima, Yosuke, Obara, Wataru, Abe, Takaya, Itai, Kazuyoshi, Ogasawara, Kuniaki, Omama, Shinichi, Turin, Tanvir Chowdhury, Miyamatsu, Naomi, Ishibashi, Yasuhiro, Morino, Yoshihiro, Itoh, Tomonori, Onoda, Toshiyuki, Kuribayashi, Toru, Makita, Shinji, Yoshida, Yuki, Nakamura, Motoyuki, Tanaka, Fumitaka, Ohta, Mutsuko, Sakata, Kiyomi, Okayama, Akira
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Japan Epidemiological Association 2016
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; atrial fibrillation; Atrial Fibrillation - epidemiology; Cardiac arrhythmia; Clinical Epidemiology; Cohort Studies; Comparative studies; Dialysis; end-stage renal disease; Female; Health risks; Hemodialysis; Humans; Japan - epidemiology; Kidney diseases; Longitudinal studies; Male; Middle Aged; Prevalence; Renal Dialysis - statistics & numerical data; Short Communication; standardized prevalence ratio; Young Adult; Japan
• ISSN: 0917-5040; 1349-9092
• DOI: 10.2188/jea.JE20150077

While it is assumed that dialysis patients in Japan have a higher prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) than the general population, the magnitude of this difference is not known. Standardized prevalence ratios (SPRs) for AF in dialysis patients (n = 1510) were calculated compared to data from the general population (n = 26 454) living in the same area. The prevalences of AF were 3.8% and 1.6% in dialysis patients and the general population, respectively. In male subjects, these respective values were 4.9% and 3.3%, and in female subjects they were 1.6% and 0.6%. The SPRs for AF were 2.53 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.88-3.19) in all dialysis patients, 1.80 (95% CI, 1.30-2.29) in male dialysis patients, and 2.13 (95% CI, 0.66-3.61) in female dialysis patients. The prevalence of AF in dialysis patients was twice that in the population-based controls. Since AF strongly contributes to a higher risk of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in the general population, further longitudinal studies should be conducted regarding the risk of several outcomes attributable to AF among Japanese dialysis patients.