Association Between Atrial Fibrillation and Dementia in the General Population JAMA Neurol. 2015;72(11)

Renée F. A. G. de Bruijn, MD1,2; Jan Heeringa, MD, PhD1; Frank J. Wolters, MD1,2; et alOscar H. Franco, MD, PhD1; Bruno H. C. Stricker, MD, PhD1; Albert Hofman, MD, PhD1; Peter J. Koudstaal, MD, PhD2; M. Arfan Ikram, MD, PhD1,3 IMPORTANCE Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been suggested as a risk factor for dementia since it may lead to chronic cerebral hypoperfusion and stroke. However, longitudinal studies assessing the association between AF and dementia have shown inconsistent results. OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of AF on the risk of developing dementia during 20 years of follow-up. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS The association of prevalent and incident AF with incident dementia was assessed from July 6, 1989, to February 4, 2010, in 6514 dementia-free participants in the prospective population-based Rotterdam Study. Data analysis was conducted from September 18, 2014, to April 17, 2015. Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusting for age, sex, and cardiovascular risk factors; censored for stroke; and stratified by median age were used. In addition, we investigated whether the association between incident AF and dementia varied according to the duration of exposure, categorized in 6-year time bands.