Impact of Adverse Health Conditions on Clinical Outcomes of Older People with Atrial Fibrillation: Insights from a Prospective Cohort Study

Objective: To evaluate the impact of adverse health conditions, including multimorbidity, frailty, malnutrition, cognitive impairment, and polypharmacy, on clinical outcomes in older people with atrial fibrillation (AF).
Patients and Methods: This prospective cohort study focused on patients aged 65 years and older with AF. They were admitted to the hospital between September 2018 and April 2019 and followed up for 1 year. We evaluated these participants for adverse health conditions including multimorbidity, frailty, malnutrition, cognitive impairment, and polypharmacy. The primary clinical outcome measured was a combination of all-cause mortality or rehospitalization.
Results: 197 older patients (≥ 65 years) with AF (mean age, 77.5± 7.1 years; 57.4% men) were enrolled. During 1-year follow-up, Primary endpoint events (all-cause mortality or rehospitalization) occurred in 82 patients (41.6%). Compared with the non-event group, the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) was higher (2.5± 1.9 vs 1.7± 1.3, p=0.004), more heart failure (32.9% vs 17.4%, p=0.01) and chronic kidney disease (17.1% vs 7.0%, p=0.03), with lower systolic blood pressure (125.3± 18.3 mmHg vs 132± 17.9 mmHg, p=0.005) in the event group. On multivariate Cox regression showed that the CCI was associated with a higher odds ratio of the composite outcome of all-cause mortality and rehospitalization (HR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.02– 1.56, p=0.03). Other adverse health conditions showed no significant association with the composite outcome of all-cause mortality and rehospitalization.
Conclusion: Among adverse health conditions in older people with AF, multimorbidity appears to be a significant determinant of adverse clinical outcomes.
Clinical Trial Registration: ChiCTR1800017204; date of registration: 07/18/2018.

Keywords: atrial fibrillation, older people, multimorbidity, prognosis