Prevalence and predictors of atrial fibrillation in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes

Close association has been shown between diabetes and atrial fibrillation (AF). We conducted this single-center cross-sectional study to investigate the prevalence and predictors of AF in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes. Patients with type 2 diabetes were eligible if 12-lead electrocardiograms were recorded at the first visit between January 2004 and December 2005. The prevalence of AF in the patients was compared with that in the Japanese general population. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the effect of independent variables on the prevalence of AF and non-valvular AF. 1650 patients with type 2 diabetes, 588 women and 1,059 men, with the mean age of 60 ± 13 (SD) years were studied. Among them, 72 patients had AF, accounting for 4.4%, with a sex-specific prevalence of 2.5% in women and 5.4% in men. Of the 72 patients having AF, 12 patients had valvular AF and 60 patients had nonvalvular AF. When compared with the Japanese general population, the age- and sex-adjusted risk ratio for AF was 3.47 (95% confidence interval: 2.77–4.37). The prevalence of combined nonvalvular/valvular AF and nonvalvular AF increased with age. Other relevant factors associated with AF and nonvalvular AF were male sex, presence of hypertension, and decreased platelet count. Higher prevalence of AF was observed in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes than the general population. Advanced age, male sex, and hypertension were independent predictive factors for AF.