67 TRENDS IN PREVALENCE AND ANTITHROMBOTIC PRESCRIPTIONS IN AF To explore the association between all predefined patient characteristics and VKA versus NOAC prescriptions in patients with new-onset AF, univariable logistic regression analyses were performed on the data of the year in which a new diagnostic code for AF or atrial flutter (ICPC code K78) for a certain patient was reported. To create a final set of variables that may be independently associated with VKA or NOAC prescription in patients with new-onset AF, multivariable logistic regression analyses with stepwise backward elimination (eliminated if p-value ≥0.05) were applied. Only AF patients who were prescribed OACs (either VKAs or NOACs) were included in these analyses, since the indication for prophylactic antithrombotic therapy is overall the same for this patient group. The group of patients who were prescribed a combination of antithrombotic treatments consisted of patients who switched antithrombotic medication within the concerning year(s) and patients who truly received antithrombotic medications from different medication groups at the same time. Because it was not possible to distinguish between them in our dataset, patients within this group were excluded from the univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses in the year(s) in which this combination therapy was recorded. All statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0.0.2.16 RESULTS From 1 January 2008 through 31 December 2017, the JGPN database included 7,459 unique patients with ICPC code K78 (AF or atrial flutter). The median follow-up time was 4 years (IQR 2–7) (see Table 1). The median age was 74 years (IQR 65–82), 51.4% were men, and the median CHA2DS2-VASc score was 3 (IQR 2–4). The most prevalent comorbidity registered was hypertension (49.8%). Of the cardiovascular medication, beta blockers (62.7%) were most often prescribed, alongside antithrombotic therapy (76.0%). Prevalence of atrial fibrillation Prevalence of reported AF increased over time, from 0.43% (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.41%–0.45%) in 2008 to 1.43% (95% CI 1.39%1.47%) in 2017 (see Figure 1). Men had a higher AF prevalence than women (1.6% versus 1.3%) in 2017. AF prevalence was highest in the oldest patients (0.1% in patients <55 years versus 15.9% in those aged ≥85 years in 2017) and, over time, the increase was more pronounced in the older age categories than in the younger age categories. 5
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTk4NDMw