Search resultsAlcohol consumption and risk of atrial fibrillation: A meta-analysis
Title
Alcohol consumption and risk of atrial fibrillation: A meta-analysis
Publication type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2011
Authors
Journal
Journal of the American College of Cardiology
Volume
57
Issue
4
Pagination
427 - 436
Date published
2011
ISBN
07351097 (ISSN)
Keywords
adrenergic activity, AF, alcohol consumption, Alcohol Drinking, article, Atrial Fibrillation, blood pressure, case study, Case-Control Studies, CI, cohort analysis, confidence interval, Confidence Intervals, congestive cardiomyopathy, cross-sectional study, disease association, Electrocardiography, EMBASE, ethnicity, Female, heart atrium fibrillation, heart atrium flutter, human, Humans, hypertension, incidence, Interview, Japan, Linear Models, male, MEDLINE, meta analysis, observational study, Odds Ratio, OR, PAF, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, priority journal, quantitative analysis, questionnaire, race difference, Relative risk, Risk Factors, RR, Severity of Illness Index, sex difference, Survival Analysis, systematic review, vagus tone
Abstract
Objectives The purpose of this meta-analysis is to summarize the estimated risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) related to alcohol consumption. Background Results from observational studies examining the relationship between alcohol consumption and AF are inconsistent. Methods A systematic electronic search of Medline (January 1966 to December 2009) and Embase (January 1974 to December 2009) databases was conducted for studies using key words related to alcohol and AF. Studies were included if data on effect measures for AF associated with habitual alcohol intake were reported or could be calculated. The effect measures for AF for the highest versus lowest alcohol intake in individual studies were pooled with a variance-based method. Linear and spline regression analyses were conducted to quantify the relationship between alcohol intake and AF risk. Results Fourteen eligible studies were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled estimate of AF for the highest versus the lowest alcohol intake was 1.51 (95% confidence interval: 1.31 to 1.74). A linear regression model showed that the pooled estimate for an increment of 10 g per day alcohol intake was 1.08 (95% confidence interval: 1.05 to 1.10; R2 = 0.43, p < 0.001). A spline regression model also indicated that the AF risk increased with increasing levels of alcohol consumption. Conclusions Results of this meta-analysis suggest that not consuming alcohol is most favorable in terms of AF risk reduction.