Abstract 17741: Atrial Fibrillation and Incident End-Stage Renal Disease: the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study

Background: Recently, it has been shown that atrial fibrillation (AF) is an independent risk factor for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) among persons with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the association between AF and incident ESRD has not been examined in the general population. Methods: A total of 25,315 study participants (mean age 65 ± 9.0 years; 54% women; 40% blacks) from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study were included in this analysis. AF was identified in study participants at baseline (2003- 2007) by the study electrocardiogram and self-reported history of a physician diagnosis. Incident cases of ESRD were identified through linkage of REGARDS participants with the United States Renal Data System. Cox proportional-hazards regression was used to generate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) for the association between ESRD and AF. Results: A total of 2,190 (8.7%) participants had AF at baseline. Over a median follow-up of 7.7 years, 295 (1.2%) participants developed ESRD. In multivariable adjusted models, AF was associated with an increased risk of incident ESRD (Table 1). However, the association between AF and ESRD became non-significant after adjustment for baseline markers of CKD. Similar results were obtained when albumin-to-creatinine ratio was included in the model as a continuous variable (log-transformed). An interaction between AF and CKD was not detected. Conclusion: AF is associated with an increased risk of ESRD in the general population. However, this association potentially is explained by underlying CKD.