Underweight Asians may be at increased risk of atrial fibrillation, states research

However, the researchers stated, "Whether the results can be generalized to other regions requires further research."

According to the authors, their study is the first meta-analysis to assess the association between the underweight and the risk of atrial fibrillation in the Asia population.

"We found that compared with the normal BMI group, there was an increase in the atrial fibrillation incidence in the underweight group by 31% in the Asia population," the researchers reported. "Dose-response analysis showed per 1 unit BMI decrement increases the AF risk by 6%."

Atrial fibrillation is considered the most common sustained arrhythmia in adults, and its prevalence is expected to rise in the future. It is estimated that the number of people with atrial fibrillation could increase by 2.5 times more than now by 2050. Additionally, individuals in Asia are more likely to be diagnosed with AF than individuals in Europe or the United States.

Multiple risk factors contribute to the incidence of atrial fibrillation, such as left ventricular hypertrophy, advanced age, obesity, myocardial infarction, and alcohol consumption, which is consistent among Asian populations as in Europe and the US populations. However, the prevalence of underweight is lower in Western countries, due to which the relationship between underweight and atrial fibrillation is poorly studied. However, in the Asian population, there is a relatively high prevalence of underweight.

Against the above background, Jing Zhang, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China, and colleagues aimed to elucidate the relationship between underweight and atrial fibrillation in Asians in a meta-analysis.

For this purpose, they searched three databases for cohort studies on the relationship between underweight and AF risk in Asians. Underweight was defined as body mass index (BMI) < 18.5 kg/m2. Six cohort studies comprising 427,844 patients were included; of those, 27,429 were underweight.

The researchers reported the following findings:

• Underweight has a 30% greater risk of atrial fibrillation compared with normal weight (RR:1.31).
• Dose-response results showed a per 1 unit BMI decrement was associated with the risk of atrial fibrillation by 6% in underweight.

"Based on current evidence, our findings indicate that individuals with underweight may be at increased risk of atrial fibrillation in Asia," the research team concluded.

Reference:

Deng, Y., Tang, X., Fu, W., Ling, Q., Xia, P., Zhao, H., Yu, P., Zhang, J., & Liu, X. (2024). Underweight and the risk of atrial fibrillation in Asian population: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Cardiology Cardiovascular Risk and Prevention, 200245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcrp.2024.200245