Abstract 15757: Short Term but Not Long Term Exposure to Air Pollution Affects Atrial Fibrillation

IntroductionAtrial fibrillation (AF) is common cardiac arrhythmia and an important risk factor for stroke and cardiovascular morbidity. Studies have linked air pollution with a variety of cardiac disorders. However, there is limited evidence regarding the association between air pollution and AF. In this population-based study, we sought to evaluate short-term and long-term effects of air pollution on AF.MethodA nationwide sample cohort comprised of approximately 2% of Korean population was utilized in this study. For the short-term effects study, daily incidence of emergency department (ED) visits due to AF was identified. The correlation with air pollution including PM2.5(particles ≤2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter), PM2.5-10, CO, SO2, NO2, and O3 was analyzed with the use of time-series analysis. For the long-term effects study, we extracted subjects 30 years of age or older who resided in Seoul between 2006 and 2015 and had no history of AF. The association between long-term exposure to air pollution and AF occurrence was analyzed using the restricted cubic spline and Cox proportional hazard models.ResultDuring this study period, 1,137 ED visits for AF were identified in Seoul. An increase in 10 μg/m of ambient PM2.5 was found to significantly increase the ED visits at lag day 3 (odds ratio, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.00-1.09; p