Diabetes Found to Contribute to Atrial Fibrillation in Women

Not only do atrial fibrillation and diabetes share common risk factors, such as obesity and hypertension, diabetes has been identified as a risk factor for atrial fibrillation. Gregory Nichols, from Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research (Oregon, USA), and colleagues studied data from 10,213 men and women enrolled in a diabetes registry plus an additional group of 7,159 subjects who served as controls.  All study participants were followed for a 9-year study period.    The researchers found the prevelance of atrial fibrillation to be significantly greater among patients with type-2 diabetes, developing the condition at a rate of 9.1 per 1,000 person-years (the rate was 6.6 among the non-diabetic control group).     The team calculated that “After full adjustment for other risk factors, diabetes was associated with a 26% increased risk of atrial fibrillation among women.”