Accumulation of chronic conditions in patients <65 years of age diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.

Authors

Walker J Tordsen, Peter S Salama, Sheila M Manemann, Peter A Noseworthy, Bernard J Gersh, Alvaro Alonso, Lisa E Vaughan, Jill M Killian, Konstantinos C Siontis, Alanna M Chamberlain

Published in

Heart rhythm. Jul 18, 2026. Epub Jul 18, 2026.

Abstract

Multimorbidity is common in atrial fibrillation (AF), particularly in older patients who generally have multiple cardiovascular (CV) and non-CV conditions.
To describe how chronic conditions accumulate in younger patients with AF.
Patients aged <65 with incident AF from 2013-2019 (N=3462) were matched 1:1 on age (±5 years) and sex to referents from the same community. Onset of 20 chronic conditions (6 CV-related and 14 non-CV) was ascertained from 3 years prior to index through 12/31/2022. Andersen-Gill models estimated associations between AF/referent status and accumulation of conditions.
The mean age was 55.1 (8.8) years for both patients with AF and referents; 70.9% were male. Prior to index, 24.8% of patients with AF had no chronic conditions, whereas 32.3% of referents had 0 conditions. The accumulation of conditions was accelerated in patients with AF compared to referents, with the strongest associations within the first year after diagnosis/index for both CV-related (HR 3.80, 95% CI 3.30-4.37) and non-CV conditions (HR 2.42, 95% CI 2.14-2.74). Stronger associations were observed for CV-related conditions, in women, and in the youngest age group. After 1 year, increased accumulation of CV-related conditions for patients with AF was observed in women (HR 1.36, 95% CI 1.13-1.63) but not men, and for those aged <50 (HR 1.50, 95% CI 1.13-1.99) and 50-54 years (HR 1.43, 95% CI 1.09-1.86) only.
Patients <65 years with AF have an increased accumulation of chronic conditions compared to those without AF, in particular within the first year after AF diagnosis.

PMID:
42471207
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 19 Jul 2026.

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