. 2023 Mar 25;9(5):413–420. doi: 10.1093/ehjcvp/pvad021

Table 4.

Studies analysing the effects of risk factor modification on cognitive decline in atrial fibrillation

Effects of cardiovascular risk factor management on AF-related cognitive impairment and dementia
Study	Participants	Study type	Summary of findings
Wändell et al. (2018)⁷⁰	12 096	Retrospective observational	Prescription of antihypertensives, alone or in combination, significantly reduced the risk of dementia in those with AF.
Kim et al. (2020)⁶⁹	171 228	Retrospective observational	A U-shaped relationship with blood pressure and dementia risk in AF was noted, with a target of 120/80 being optimal for dementia prevention.
Park et al. (2022)⁶⁴	199 952	Retrospective observational	Alcohol abstinence, no current smoking and regular exercise were associated with reduced risk of dementia in newly diagnosed AF patients (HR 0.62, 95% CI 0.57–0.68 for all three behaviours vs. none).
Lee et al. (2022)⁶⁵	126 252	Retrospective observational	Smoking cessation, compared with continued smoking, was significantly associated with a reduced risk of dementia in newly diagnosed AF patients (aHR 0.83, 95% CI 0.72–0.95).
Jiang et al. (2022)⁶⁸	9361	Subgroup analysis of RCT (SPRINT)	Intensive blood pressure control in those with AF was associated with an increased risk of developing dementia (HR 2.22, 95% CI 1.03–4.80; P for interaction = 0.009).