Table 2. Baseline characteristics in the subjects (n = 1045) with and without atrial fibrillation (AF) in the follow-up.
| No AF (n = 940) | AF (n = 105) | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 51 ± 6 | 54 ± 5 | <0.001 |
| Sex (male), n (%) | 455 (48%) | 65 (62%) | 0.009 |
| Study group (hypertensives), n (%) | 460 (49%) | 59 (56%) | 0.159 |
| Diabetics, n (%) | 92 (10%) | 14 (13%) | 0.254 |
| Coronary artery disease, n (%) | 92 (10%) | 26 (25%) | <0.001 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 147 ± 22 | 156 ± 23 | <0.001 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) | 89 ±12 | 91 ± 14 | 0.138 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 27.6 ± 5 | 29.0 ± 5 | 0.003 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 90 ± 13 | 95 ± 13 | <0.001 |
| Fasting glucose (mmol/l) | 4.7 ± 1.5 | 4.9 ± 1.3 | 0.434 |
| ANP (pmol/l) | 273 ± 153 | 350 ± 256 | <0.001 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/l) | 5.7 ± 1.1 | 5.7 ± 1.0 | 0.619 |
| HDL-cholesterol (mmol/l) | 1.4 ± 0.4 | 1.3 ± 0.4 | 0.021 |
| LDL-cholesterol (mmol/l) | 3.6 ± 1.0 | 3.6 ± 0.9 | 0.477 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/l) | 1.6 ± 1.0 | 1.8 ± 1.1 | 0.064 |
| hs-CRP (mg/l) | 3.8 ± 7.6 | 3.9 ± 6.0 | 0.868 |
| ALT (U/l) | 31 ± 23 | 37 ± 22 | 0.012 |
| Creatinine (μmol/l) | 82 ± 15 | 91 ± 89 | 0.007 |
| Alcohol (g/week) | 59 ± 86 | 79 ± 117 | 0.033 |
| Smoking (pack years) | 10 ± 14 | 13 ± 17 | 0.020 |
| IMT (mm) | 0.87 ± 0.18 | 0.92 ± 0.21 | 0.007 |
| Left atrial diameter (mm) | 39 ± 5 | 41 ± 5 | <0.001 |
| β-blockers, n (%) | 247 (26%) | 39 (37%) | 0.018 |
| Calcium blockers, n (%) | 113 (12%) | 15 (14%) | 0.502 |
| ACE-inhibitors, n (%) | 174 (19%) | 30 (29%) | 0.014 |
| Diuretic drugs, n (%) | 153 (16%) | 19 (18%) | 0.634 |
| Digitalis, n (%) | 12 (1%) | 12 (11%) | <0.001 |
| Lipid lowering drug, n (%) | 27 (3%) | 3 (3%) | 0.993 |
| Aspirin, n (%) | 47 (5%) | 11 (10%) | 0.020 |
The values are means ± SD, absolute numbers with percentages or percentages alone. The medication data is expressed as number of subjects and percentages. Differences were tested by the ANOVA test for continuous variables and Pearson Chi-Squared test for categorical variables. ANP, atrial natriuretic peptide; hs-CRP, high-sensitive C-reactive protein; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; IMT, intima-media thickness; ACE, angiotensin converting enzyme.