Arrhythmias & electrophysiology
Associations of dietary patterns, ultra-processed food and nutrient intake with incident atrial fibrillation
Authors' conclusion
With the possible exception of reducing ultra-processed food consumption, these findings suggest that attention to other modifiable risk factors, particularly obesity, may be more important than specific dietary patterns for the primary prevention of AF.
Study context
- Population
- UK Biobank participants with 24-hour diet recall questionnaires4,579 incident atrial fibrillation (AF) cases
- Participants
- 121,300 participants
- Exposure
- Adherence to dietary patterns (Mediterranean-style, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), plant-based) and ultra-processed food consumption, highest vs lowest quintile
- Outcome
- Incident AF hospitalisations
- Follow-up
- Median 8.8 years
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Incident AF hospitalisation
Highest quintile vs Lowest quintileHazard ratio (95% CI)
Mediterranean-style diet, minimally adjusted
0.87(0.80–0.96)
DASH diet, minimally adjusted
0.78(0.71–0.86)
Mediterranean-style diet, adjusted for lifestyle factors; not significant
0.95(0.87–1.04)
DASH diet, adjusted for lifestyle factors; not significant
0.94(0.86–1.04)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Parts of this Brief are withheld: the automatic checks could not confirm them against the abstract.
Original publication
Associations of dietary patterns, ultra-processed food and nutrient intake with incident atrial fibrillation. Heart. Published 17 July 2023. doi:10.
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