New Delhi: A new study has shown that presence of atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of future dementia by 21 per cent in patients diagnosed with AF under 70 and the risk of early-onset dementia (diagnosed before age 65 years) by 36 per cent.
The association was stronger in younger adults and was lost in older adults aged 70 years and over, according to new research presented at the ‘EHRA 2025’, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology, in Austria.
“This is the largest European population-based study evaluating the association between AF and dementia,” said the authors that included Dr Julian Rodriguez García of the Electrophysiology and Arrhythmia department of the Bellvitge University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain.
“The association between AF and dementia was stronger in patients under 70 and was maximal for early-onset dementia,” García noted.
Atrial fibrillation causes an irregular heartbeat and is relatively common, affecting 2-3 percent of the general population, with the prevalence rising with age.
Age was found to significantly affect the association between AF and dementia. “The study demonstrates a significant and strong association in younger patients between two pathologies – atrial fibrillation and dementia - that are among the major health challenges of the 21st century,” said the authors.
