Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Risk for Early Incident Atrial Fibrillation: A Prospective Cohort Study of 1.1 Million Young Adults.

ABSTRACT: Background Acute psychological stress and negative emotions are known risk factors for atrial fibrillation (AF). Whether exposure to chronic stress syndromes, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), also increases susceptibility to AF is unknown. Methods and Results We prospectively assessed the incidence of AF over a 13-year period among 988 090 young and middle-aged veterans (mean age, 30.29±9.19 years; 87.8% men, 64.5% white) who first accessed care through the Veterans Health Administration from October 2001 to November 2014 and were free of AF, atrial flutter, or atrial tachycardia at baseline. Time-varying, multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the independent contribution of PTSD to new AF. We also tested for effect modification by sex and controlled

SUBMITTER: Rosman L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6806049 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature