Incidence,mortality,and sex differences of non-valvular atrial fibrillation: A population-based study

Background: it is unclear whether the incidence of non-valvular atrial fibrillation (nvaf) has been increasing over time. we aimed to provide contemporary estimates of the incidence and case-fatality of nvaf in a well-defined population. methods and results: we used the computerized databases of the régie de l'assurance maladie du québec (ramq),responsible for administering the universal health care services for all its residents,to identify a population-based cohort of 243 800 patients with an incident diagnosis of nvaf during 2000-2009. the incidence rate of nvaf,age- and sex-standardized to the 2004 population of québec,was 32.4 (95% confidence interval,32.3 to 32.5) per 10 000 per year. there was no evidence of an increasing incidence of nvaf during the 10-year study period. the incidence rate was higher in men compared with women (ageadjusted incidence rate ratio 1.51; 95% ci 1.50 to 1.52). the 30-day case-fatality was 9.2% (95% ci 9.0 to 9.3),higher for men (10.0%; 95% ci 9.8 to 10.1) than women (8.5; 95% ci 8.3 to 8.6),and increasing with age,ranging from around 1% for cases aged < 40 years to around 16% for cases aged ≥80. conclusion: current incidence estimates illustrate the significant burden of nvaf. mortality remains particularly high around the time of diagnosis,and case-fatality increases with age,being systematically higher in men than women. © 2014 the authors.