A European cohort study revealed that even modest habitual alcohol intake of 1.2 drinks/day was associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). The study followed 107 845 individuals (median age 47.8 years, 48.3% men) from five community-based cohorts across Europe. The median alcohol consumption was 3 g/day. During median follow-up of 13.9 years, 5854 individuals developed AF. In a sex- and cohort-stratified Cox regression analysis, alcohol consumption was non-linearly and positively associated with incident AF. The hazard ratio for one drink (12 g) per day was 1.16. All types of alcohol were related to an increased risk of AF. In contrast, alcohol consumption at lower doses was associated with reduced risk of incident HF. The association between alcohol consumption and incident AF was neither fully explained by cardiac biomarker concentrations nor by the occurrence of HF. The findings are consistent with recent trials among moderate drinkers showing reduced episodes of AF recurrence after periods of abstinence and suggest reduction of alcohol consumption in AF prevention and management. Source: https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/
