TY - JOUR
T1 - Is the risk of atrial fibrillation higher in athletes than in the general population? A systematic review and meta-analysis
AU - Abdulla, Jawdat
AU - Nielsen, Jens Rokkedal
N1 - Keywords: Atrial Fibrillation; Female; Humans; Incidence; Male; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Sports
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - AIMS: The aim of this study was to examine by a systematic literature review and meta-analysis whether the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) is higher in athletes compared with not athletes. METHODS AND RESULTS: A comprehensive systematic search was conducted for case-control studies that examined cases of AF or atrial flutter in athletes vs. controls. Extracted data from the eligible studies were meta-analysed using fixed effects model. Six case-control studies were eligible for meta-analysis. A total of 655 athletes and 895 controls were compared. Mean age was 51+/-9 years and 93% were men. There were 147 (23%) vs. 116 (12.5%) cases of AF among athletes compared with controls. The overall risk of AF was significantly higher in athletes than in controls with odds ratio (95% confidence interval)=5.29 (3.57-7.85), P=0.0001, and Z-score=8.08. For heterogeneity, the calculated chi2=2.92, P=0.633, and I2=0% were not significant. CONCLUSION: The risk of AF is significantly higher in athletes compared with not athletes. However, this finding should be confirmed further in large-scale prospective longitudinal studies.
AB - AIMS: The aim of this study was to examine by a systematic literature review and meta-analysis whether the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) is higher in athletes compared with not athletes. METHODS AND RESULTS: A comprehensive systematic search was conducted for case-control studies that examined cases of AF or atrial flutter in athletes vs. controls. Extracted data from the eligible studies were meta-analysed using fixed effects model. Six case-control studies were eligible for meta-analysis. A total of 655 athletes and 895 controls were compared. Mean age was 51+/-9 years and 93% were men. There were 147 (23%) vs. 116 (12.5%) cases of AF among athletes compared with controls. The overall risk of AF was significantly higher in athletes than in controls with odds ratio (95% confidence interval)=5.29 (3.57-7.85), P=0.0001, and Z-score=8.08. For heterogeneity, the calculated chi2=2.92, P=0.633, and I2=0% were not significant. CONCLUSION: The risk of AF is significantly higher in athletes compared with not athletes. However, this finding should be confirmed further in large-scale prospective longitudinal studies.
U2 - 10.1093/europace/eup197
DO - 10.1093/europace/eup197
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 19633305
SN - 1099-5129
VL - 11
SP - 1156
EP - 1159
JO - Europace
JF - Europace
IS - 9
ER -