Arrhythmias and conduction disturbancesFactors Associated With the Epidemic of Hospitalizations Due to Atrial Fibrillation
Section snippets
Methods
Data were obtained from the National Hospital Morbidity Dataset, a source maintained by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare that includes inpatient information at every hospital in Australia. The proportion of missing data is negligible, representing <0.004% of cases per year.
We identified hospitalizations with principal diagnoses of AF across a 15-year period from 1993 through 2007 inclusive. The International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, and
Results
Over a 15-year period from 1993 to 2007, there were a total of 93,029,656 hospitalizations for any diagnosis in Australia (representing a follow-up period of almost 300 million person-years). There were a total of 473,501 hospitalizations for AF. There was a relative increase of 203% in the number of AF hospitalizations (7.9% annually, rate ratio [RR] 1.079, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.069 to 1.088, p <0.001; Table 1). This was in contrast to a relative increase in the number of all
Discussion
We examined nationwide trends in hospitalizations for AF in Australia over a 15-year period to determine factors that might be contributing to the increasing rates of hospitalizations for this prolific condition. Our findings highlight that the age-specific incidence of hospitalizations for AF is continuing to increase. Not only are aging population structures resulting in a growing prevalence of AF, but elderly patients in particular are being hospitalized for AF at an increasing rate. Our
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Dr. Wong is supported by a Rhodes Scholarship from the Rhodes Trust. Drs. Brooks, Roberts-Thomson, and Sanders are supported by the National Heart Foundation of Australia. Drs. Lau and Leong are supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. Dr. Leong is supported by the National Heart Foundation of Australia and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
Dr. Roberts-Thomson has served on the advisory board of St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, Minnesota. Dr. Sanders has served on the advisory board of St. Jude Medical; Bard Electrophysiology, Lowell, Massachusetts; Biosense Webster, Diamond Bar, California; Medtronic, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Sanofi-Aventis, Paris, France; and Merck, Whitehouse Station, New Jersey. Dr. Sanders has received lecture fees from St. Jude Medical, Bard Electrophysiology, Biosense Webster, Medtronic, and Merck. Dr. Sanders has received research funding from St. Jude Medical, Bard Electrophysiology, Biosense Webster, and Medtronic.