High risk factors of atrial fibrillation in type 2 diabetes: results from the Chinese Kailuan study

Background: The pathophysiological mechanisms for atrial fibrillation (AF) vulnerability in diabetic patients are largely unclear. Aim: To investigate the high risk factors of AF in Chinese Kailuan diabetes. Design: A retrospective review of AF in Chinese Kailuan diabetes. Methods: Research and statistic analysis on the clinical data of 9050 diabetic patients from Kailuan Coal Mine Group Corporation who participated in a health survey from July 2006 to October 2007. Results: Sixty diabetic patients (50 males and 10 females) were diagnosed with AF during the health checkup, with a prevalence of 0.66% (0.67% in males and 0.62% in females). Univariate analysis showed that patients with AF were older and had higher levels of serum uric acid (UA), pulse pressure, serumc-reactive protein and anti-hypertensive medication usage, but lower levels of fasting blood glucose and triglycerides (TG). Multivariate analysis indicated that older age (OR = 1.09; 95% CI: 1.06-1.12), increased UA (OR = 1.01; 95% CI: 1.00-1.01) and decreased TG (OR = 0.71; 95% CI: 0.55-0.92) were independent predictive factors of AF after adjusting for other variables. After gender stratification, age and UA remained as independent predictive factors of AF in both male and female patients. However, TG had an independent inverse association with AF in male patients only. Conclusions: Age and UA are independent predictive factors of AF in both male and female diabetic patients. TG is inversely correlated with AF in male diabetic patients only.