Trend in the prevalence of atrial fibrillation 7 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract

Abstract Background The age-adjusted prevalence rate of atrial fibrillation (AF) had kept increasing until 2-year after the Great East Japan Earthquake (reported in ESC2017). Whether the elevated prevalence was tentative or not has not been sufficiently elucidated yet. Methods Community dwellers aged 40 to 74 years living in Iwate Prefecture who underwent annual health checkups (2010 (n=17490), 2011 (n=174236), 2012 (n=183612), 2013 (n=188429), 2014 (n=188424), 2015 (n=193610), 2016 (n=194882), 2017 (n=195428) account for approximately 30% of total population) were enrolled. Participants were divided into two age categories (40–64, 65–74 years). Direct age-adjusted prevalence rate of AF in each year was estimated using the 2010 population as the reference. Result Data are shown in the figure. Conclusion Prevalence rates of AF increased only in elderly people for up to 3 years after the disaster. This indicated that accelerated development of AF in elderly people due to stressful life after the disaster would not end within a short term and lasted at least 3 years after the disaster. Figure 1 Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None