Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a risk factor for cognitive impairment and dementia in patients with stroke history. However, the association between AF and cognitive impairment in broader populations is less clear.
Objective: To systematically review and quantitatively synthesize the existing evidence regarding the association of AF with cognitive impairment of any severity and etiology and dementia.
Methods: Medline, Scopus, and Cochrane Central were searched in order to identify studies investigating the association between AF and cognitive impairment (or dementia) cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Studies encompassing and analyzing exclusively patients with stroke history were excluded. A random-effects model meta-analysis was conducted. Potential sources of between-study heterogeneity were investigated via subgroup and meta-regression analyses. Sensitivity analyses including only studies reporting data on stroke-free patients, vascular dementia, and Alzheimer's disease were performed.
Results: In total, 43 studies were included. In the pooled analysis, AF was significantly associated with dementia (adjusted OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.3 to 2.1; I2, 31%) and the combined endpoint of cognitive impairment or dementia (pooled adjusted OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.4 to 1.8; I2, 34%). The results were significant, even when studies including only stroke-free patients were pooled together (unadjusted OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.4 to 3.5; I2, 96%), but the heterogeneity rates were high. AF was significantly associated with increased risk of both vascular (adjusted OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.2 to 2.3; I2, 43%) and Alzheimer's dementia (adjusted HR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.2 to 1.6; I2, 42%).
Conclusion: AF increases the risk of cognitive impairment, all-cause dementia, vascular dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. Future studies should employ interventions that may delay or even prevent cognitive decline in AF patients.
Keywords: atrial fibrillation; dementia; meta-analysis; systematic review.
© 2021. Society of General Internal Medicine.