Glucocorticoid Use Is Associated with Risk for Atrial Fibrillation

In two small observational studies in the Netherlands and the U.K., glucocorticoid use was associated with atrial fibrillation (AF). To validate this association in a larger cohort, Danish researchers undertook a population-based case-control study that included more than 20,000 patients who received first hospital diagnoses of AF or flutter from 1999 through 2005; 10 age- and sex-matched controls from the general population were identified for each case patient.

After adjustment for multiple comorbidities, including cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, odds of AF or flutter were higher for people who filled prescriptions for glucocorticoids within 60 days before index events (odds ratio, 3.6) and for long-term users (OR, 1.7) than for peo…