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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2016 Nov 4;24(1):4–40. doi: 10.1177/2047487316676037

Table 14.

Genetic predisposition and risk of AF—population-based studies

Study Design Subjects FU Familial AF history AF, % Risk* (95% Cl)
Fox et al236
 Framngham
 Heart Study
Prospective cohort
Population-based epidemiological study
2243 O
1165 women
1078 men
At least 30 yrs
16 yrs 681—at least 1 parent had documented AF n = 70 Parental AF vs. no FH
OR 1.85 (1.12–3.06; P = 0.02)
Parental AF vs. no FH <75 years (O and P)
OR 323 (1.87–5.58; P< 0.001)
Parental AF vs. no FH <75 years (O w/o overt clinical heart disease)
OR 3.17 (1.71 –5.86; P< 0.001)
Amar et al237
 Iceland cohort
Populad on-based cohort 5269 pts with AF AF risk in first to fifth degree relatives First degree relative
RR 1.77 (1.67 = 1.88 P = 0.001)
First degree relative <60 years old
RR 4.67 (3.57–6.08, P = 0.001)
Gundlund et al238
 Denmark cohort
Populad on-based study New-onset AF
67 310 mothers—64 yrs
103 822 fathers—70 yrs
11 800 siblings—46 yrs
AF screening:
133516 maternal O
221 774 paternal O
21 448 sibling O

2536 (1.9%)
2906 (1.3%)
292 (1.4%)
RR compared with general Denmark population
3.37 (3.21–3.53)
181 (2.69–193)
5.20 (4.61–5.85)
Zolleretd.235
 Sweden cohort
Populad on-based case-controlled study 300 586 individuals with AF/AFl multiplex families
1 parent ≤49 yrs
2 parents
≤49 yrs
≥1 sibling
≤49 yrs
≥2 siblings
≤49 yrs
Case vs. control
22.6 vs. 13.6%
22.8 vs. 11.9%
2.0 vs. 0.2%
2.1 vs. 0.5%
14.7 vs. 5.6%
8.1 vs. 13%
19 vs. 0.6%
1.4 vs. 0.2%

OR 1.95 (1.89–100)
OR 133 (123–144)
OR 3.6 (3.3–3.92)
OR 5.04 (4.36–5.28)
OR 3.08 (3.0–3.16)
OR 4.06 (3.79 –4.41)
OR 5.72 (5.28–6.19)
OR 8.51 (6.49–11.15)
Lubitz et al240
 Framingham Heart Study
Prospective cohort 4421 participants Familial AF—1185
Premature familial AF (<65 yrs) −351
Overall 440
Familial AF vs. no FH 5.8 vs. 3.1%
Presence of any first degree familial AF vs. no HR 1.4 (1.13–1.74, P = 0.002)
Presence of premature familial AF (<65 years) HR 2.01 (1.49–171, P < 0.001)
Number of first degree relative with AF—risk per each additional affected member
HR 1.24 (1.05–1.46, P=0.01)
Oyen et al241
 Denmark cohort
Prospective cohort 3 985 446 individuals
Lone AF—9507 subjects <60 yrs
31 yrs First degree relative
Second degree relative
Number of affected first degree relatives
1 affected
≥2 affected
Age at onset of lone AF for cohort member and first degree relative
<30 yrs for both
<40 yrs for both
n = 269
n= 19

n = 264
n = 5

N/A
n = 31
IRR 3.48 (3.08–3.93)
IRR 1.64 (1.04–159)
IRR 3.45 (3.05–3.9)
IRR 6.24 (159–15.0)

IRR 8.53 (3.82–19.0)
IRR 5.42 (3.8–7.72)

AF, atrial fibrillation; Cl, confidence interval; FH, family history; FU, follow-up; HR, hazard ratio; IRR, incidence rate ratio; O, offspring; OR, odds ratio; P, parent; pts, patients; RR, relative risk; yrs, years.