Background: Atopic dermatitis is characterized by chronic inflammation, which is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation.
Objective: To examine the association between hospital-diagnosed atopic dermatitis and atrial fibrillation.
Methods: Using linked population-based Danish registries, we identified persons with an inpatient or outpatient hospital diagnosis of atopic dermatitis during 1977-2013 and a comparison cohort individually matched to the atopic dermatitis cohort. We followed cohorts until death, emigration, atrial fibrillation diagnosis, or end of study (January 1, 2013). We compared 35-year risk of atrial fibrillation and estimated hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals using Cox regression, adjusting for birth year and sex. We validated 100 atopic dermatitis diagnoses from a dermatologic department through medical record review.
Results: We included 13,126 persons with atopic dermatitis and 124,211 comparators and followed them for a median of 19.3 years. The 35-year risk of atrial fibrillation was 0.81% and 0.67%, respectively. The positive predictive value of atopic dermatitis diagnoses was 99%. The hazard ratio was 1.2 (95% confidence interval 1.0-1.6) and remained increased after adjusting for various atrial fibrillation risk factors.
Limitations: Analyses were limited to persons with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, and we had no lifestyle data.
Conclusion: Patients with hospital-diagnosed atopic dermatitis have a 20% increased long-term risk of atrial fibrillation, but the absolute risk remains low.
Keywords: atopic dermatitis; atrial fibrillation; atrial flutter; cohort study; risk factors; validation.
Copyright © 2019 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.