Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Is Associated with Increased Atrial Fibrillation Risk in an Elderly Chinese Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease are two pathological conditions that are highly prevalent worldwide and share multiple CVD risk factors. There are rare researches performed among elderly adults. AIMS: We conducted this cross-sectional analysis of elderly adults (≥65 years) to investigate the association between atrial fibrillation and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. METHODS: We analyzed clinical data of the elderly adults (≥ 65 years) who had health examination in Zhenhai Lianhua Hospital, Ningbo, China, in 2014. RESULTS: 522 of the 1688 participants were diagnosed with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and 39 participants were diagnosed as having atrial fibrillation. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was associated with risk factors for AF in the elderly Chinese population (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.03-3.69). Adjustments for age, gender, systolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, high-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, total cholesterol and albumin, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and prevalent atrial fibrillation remained statistically significant (OR 2.76, 95% CI 1.32-5.77). CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation in an elderly Chinese population.