Relation Between Lipid Profile and New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Systemic Hypertension (From the Swedish Primary Care Cardiovascular Database [SPCCD])

The relation between dyslipidemia and atrial fibrillation (AF) development is still controversial. To assess the impact of lipid profile on new-onset AF, we followed 51,020 primary-care hypertensive patients without AF at baseline. After a mean follow-up time of 3.5 years, AF occurred in 2,389 participants (4.7%). We evaluated the association between total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and new-onset AF. In a Poisson regression model fully adjusted for common risk factors of AF, we found that 1.0 mmol/l (39 mg/dl) increase in total cholesterol was associated with 19% lower risk of new-onset AF (95% confidence interval [CI] 9% to 28%), and 1.0 mmol/l (39 mg/dl) increase in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was associated with 16% lower risk of new-onset AF (95% CI 3% to 27%). Gender-specific Poisson regression analyses revealed that increase in total cholesterol by 1.0 mmol/l (39 mg/dl) was found to be associated with lower risk of new-onset AF with 21% in men (95% CI 8% to 32%), and 18% in women (95% CI 1% to 31%). There was no association between high-density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglycerides and new-onset AF, neither in the whole population with respect to separate gender. In conclusion, in a large hypertensive population we found an inverse association between total cholesterol and new-onset AF for both men and women. Our results confirm previous reports of a dyslipidemia paradox, and extend these observations to the hypertensive population.