Kidney Function, Albuminuria, and Risk of Incident Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) often coexist. However, it is not known whether CKD is an independent risk factor for incident AF. Therefore, we evaluated the association between markers of CKD, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albuminuria, and incident AF. Systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs). & Study Populations: Participants with measurement of eGFR and/or albuminuria, not receiving dialysis. Cohort studies and RCTs reporting incident AF risk in adults according to eGFR and/or albuminuria. Age- or multivariate-adjusted risk ratios (RR) for incident AF were extracted from cohort studies, and RRs for each trial were derived from event data. RRs for incident AF were pooled using random-effects models. Thirty-eight studies involving 28,470,249 participants with 530,041 incident AF cases were included. Adjusted risk of incident AF was greater among participants with lower eGFR than those with higher eGFR (eGFR <60 vs. ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2: RR 1.43, 95% CI 1.30 - 1.57; and eGFR <90 vs. ≥90 mL/min/1.73 m2: RR 1.42, 95% CI 1.26 - 1.60). Adjusted incident AF risk was greater among participants with albuminuria (any albuminuria vs. no albuminuria: RR 1.43, 95% CI 1.25 - 1.63; and moderately- to severely-increased albuminuria vs. normal to mildly-increased albuminuria: RR 1.64, 95% CI 1.31 - 2.06). Subgroup analyses showed an exposure-dependent association between CKD and incident AF with the risk increasing progressively at lower eGFR and higher albuminuria categories. Lack of patient-level data, interaction between eGFR and albuminuria could not be evaluated, possible ascertainment bias due to variation in the method of AF detection. Lower eGFR and higher albuminuria were independently associated with increased risk of incident AF. CKD should be regarded as an independent risk factor for incident AF.