Outcomes of patients with atrial fibrillation with and without diabetes: A propensity score matching of the COOL‐AF registry

Background To investigate the clinical outcomes of patients with non‐valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) compared between those with and without diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods We conducted a prospective multicenter nationwide registry for patients with NVAF from 27 hospitals in Thailand. Patients were followed‐up every 6 months until 3 years. The outcome measurements were ischemic stroke (IS) or transient ischemic attack (TIA), major bleeding, and heart failure (HF). All reported events were confirmed by the adjudication committee. DM was diagnosed by history or laboratory data. Results We studied 3402 patients. DM was diagnosed in 923 patients (27.1%). The average follow‐up duration was 25.74 ± 10.57 months (7912 persons‐year). The rate of IS/TIA, major bleeding, and HF was 1.42, 2.11, and 3.03 per 100 person‐years. Patients with DM had a significantly increased risk of IS/TIA, major bleeding, and HF. After adjusting for age, gender, comorbid conditions, and the use of oral anticoagulant (OAC) using propensity score matching, DM remained a significant predictor of ischemic stroke/TIA, major bleeding and HF with Hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval of 1.67 (1.02, 2.73), 1.65 (1.13, 2.40), and 1.87 (1.34, 2.59), respectively. The net clinical benefit of OAC was more pronounced in DM patients (0.88 events per 100 person‐years) than in those without DM (−0.73 events per 100 person‐years). Conclusions DM increases the risk of adverse clinical outcomes in NVAF patients. The benefit of OAC outweighs the risk in DM patients.