Depression, antidepressants, and the risk of non-valvular atrial fibrillation: A nationwide Danish matched cohort study:

BackgroundDepression is associated with an increased risk of a series of cardiovascular diseases and with increased symptom burden in patients with atrial fibrillation. The aim of this study was to determine the association between depression as well as antidepressant treatment and the risk of incident atrial fibrillation.DesignA nationwide register-based study comparing the atrial fibrillation risk in all Danes initiating antidepressant treatment from 2000 to 2013 (N = 785,254) with that in a 1:5-matched sample from the general population.MethodsCox regression was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and associated 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs), both after initiation of treatment and in the month before when patients were assumed to have medically untreated depression.ResultsAntidepressant treatment was associated with a three-fold higher risk of atrial fibrillation during the first month (aHR = 3.18 (95% CI: 2.98–3.39)). This association gradually attenuated over the following year (aHR =...