: The incidence and prevalence of AF have increased in recent years , although great variability still exists in Asian countries .
Variability in annual IS risk in patients with AF was apparent between hospital‐ and community‐based studies .
BACKGROUND : Our previous review reported great variability in the incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation ( AF ) in non‐Western cohorts , especially from Asian countries ; in recent years , epidemiologic studies on AF have been increasingly reported from Asia .
METHODS : The goal of this up date d systematic review was to present the current knowledge base of AF epidemiology in Asian countries since our previous review .
Effects of smoking habit on the prevalence of atrial fibrillation in Japanese patients with special reference to sex differences.
BACKGROUND Tobacco smoking is a well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disease , but controversial results have been reported regarding its relationship with  atrial fibrillation ( AF ) . Moreover , no study on the relationship between smoking and AF has yet been undertaken in a Japanese context . METHODS AND RESULTS We used data from the Shinken Data base 2004 - 2011 ( men/women , n=10,714/6,803 , respectively ) , which included all new patients attending the Cardiovascular Institute between June 2004 and March 2012 . AF was diagnosed in 1,698 and 598 men and women , respectively . In men , smokers were more prevalent in the AF than in the non-AF group ( 54.5 % vs. 44.7 % ) , whereas in women the prevalence of smokers was similar between AF and non-AF groups ( 14.4 % vs. 15.4 % ) . This discrepancy between the sexes seems to derive from a characteristic distribution pattern of smoking habit in women . After adjustment for various cofactors , smoking was independently associated with AF ( odds ratio 1.54 ; 95 % confidence interval 1.35 - 1.75 ; P<0.001 ) without a significant interaction between sex categories ( P=0.195 ) . CONCLUSIONS Smoking was independently associated with AF without a significant interaction between sex categories among Japanese patients visiting a cardiovascular hospital . Further studies using a prospect i ve cohort design are required to confirm a causal link between smoking and AF in Japanese patients
: The incidence and prevalence of AF have increased in recent years , although great variability still exists in Asian countries .
Variability in annual IS risk in patients with AF was apparent between hospital‐ and community‐based studies .
BACKGROUND : Our previous review reported great variability in the incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation ( AF ) in non‐Western cohorts , especially from Asian countries ; in recent years , epidemiologic studies on AF have been increasingly reported from Asia .
METHODS : The goal of this up date d systematic review was to present the current knowledge base of AF epidemiology in Asian countries since our previous review .