Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Oct 24;4(10):e006242.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006242.

Atrial fibrillation in Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians: a cross-sectional study

Christopher X Wong  1 , Anthony G Brooks  1 , Yi-Han Cheng  1 , Dennis H Lau  1 , Geetanjali Rangnekar  1 , Kurt C Roberts-Thomson  1 , Jonathan M Kalman  2   3 , Alex Brown  4 , Prashanthan Sanders  1
Affiliations

Atrial fibrillation in Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians: a cross-sectional study

Christopher X Wong et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objective: To examine the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) and cardiac structural characteristics in Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study linking clinical, echocardiography and administrative databases over a 10-year period.

Setting: A tertiary, university teaching hospital in Adelaide, Australia.

Participants: Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Main outcome measures: AF prevalence and echocardiographic characteristics.

Results: Indigenous Australians with AF were significantly younger compared to non-Indigenous Australians (55±13 vs 75±13 years, p<0.001). As a result, racial differences in AF prevalence and left atrial diameter varied according to age. In those under 60 years of age, Indigenous Australians had a significantly greater AF prevalence (2.57 vs1.73%, p<0.001) and left atrial diameters (39±7 vs 37±7 mm, p<0.001) compared to non-Indigenous Australians. In those aged 60 years and above, however, non-Indigenous Australians had significantly greater AF prevalence (9.26 vs 4.61%, p<0.001) and left atrial diameters (39±7 vs 37±7 mm, p<0.001). Left ventricular ejection fractions were less in Indigenous Australians under 60 years of age (49±14 vs 55±11%, p<0.001) and not statistically different in those aged 60 years and above (47±11 vs 52±13, p=0.074) compared to non-Indigenous Australians. Despite their younger age, Indigenous Australians with AF had similar or greater rates of cardiovascular comorbidities than non-Indigenous Australians with AF.

Conclusions: Young Indigenous Australians have a significantly greater prevalence of AF than their non-Indigenous counterparts. In contrast, older non-Indigenous Australians have a greater prevalence of AF compared to their Indigenous counterparts. These observations may be mediated by age-based differences in comorbid cardiovascular conditions, left atrial diameter and left ventricular ejection fraction. Our findings suggest that AF is likely to be contributing to the greater burden of morbidity and mortality experienced by young Indigenous Australians. Further study is required to elucidate whether strategies to prevent and better manage AF in Indigenous Australians may reduce this burden.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Graph showing the race-specific prevalence of atrial fibrillation in Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians according to age group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Wong CX, Lau DH, Sanders P. Atrial fibrillation epidemic and hospitalizations: how to turn the rising tide? Circulation 2014;129:2361–3 - PubMed
    1. Go AS, Hylek EM, Phillips KA, et al. . Prevalence of diagnosed atrial fibrillation in adults: national implications for rhythm management and stroke prevention: the AnTicoagulation and Risk Factors in Atrial Fibrillation (ATRIA) Study. JAMA 2001;285:2370–5 - PubMed
    1. Miyasaka Y, Barnes ME, Gersh BJ, et al. . Secular trends in incidence of atrial fibrillation in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1980 to 2000, and implications on the projections for future prevalence. Circulation 2006;114:119–25 - PubMed
    1. Stewart S, Murphy N, Walker A, et al. . Cost of an emerging epidemic: an economic analysis of atrial fibrillation in the UK. Heart 2004;90:286–92 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wattigney WA, Mensah GA, Croft JB. Increasing trends in hospitalization for atrial fibrillation in the United States, 1985 through 1999: implications for primary prevention. Circulation 2003;108:711–16 - PubMed

MeSH terms