Risk Factors between Patients with Lone and Non-Lone Atrial Fibrillation

Clinical factors such as tall stature, lean body mass, obstructive sleep apnea, alcohol or caffeine, smoking, endurance sports, and genetic factors are proposed as risk factors for lone atrial fibrillation (LAF). The KORAF (KORean Atrial Fibrillation) study is a retrospective multicenter registry that enrolled 3,570 consecutive atrial fibrillation (AF) patients. Data on risk factors were available for 2,133 patients, of whom 398 (18.7%) were identified as having LAF. In univariate analysis, patients with LAF were more likely to be men (82.4% vs 59.8%, P < 0.001) and current smokers (25.9% vs 15.6%, P < 0.01), alcohol drinkers (55.3% vs 31.2%, P < 0.01) and frequent consumers of caffeinated beverages (> 2 cups/day) (31.7% vs 19.3%, P < 0.01), and have a family history of AF (9.0% vs 2.6%, P < 0.001) than the non-LAF patients. Multivariate analysis showed that male gender (OR, 2.30; 95% CI, 1.61-3.27, P < 0.01), family history of AF (OR, 3.12; 95% CI, 1.91-5.12, P < 0.01), current alcohol use (OR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.46-2.76, P < 0.01), and frequent caffeinated beverage consumption (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.20-2.29, P < 0.01) were independently associated with LAF. In Korean patients, LAF is more closely associated with male gender, family history of AF, current alcohol and frequent caffeinated beverage consumption than non-LAF.