Family history linked to early-onset A-fib in minorities

(HealthDay)—Probands of African or Hispanic/Latino descent with early-onset atrial fibrillation (EOAF) are more likely than European Americans to have a first-degree relative with AF, according to a study published online Sept. 21 in JAMA Network Open.

Zain Alzahrani, M.D., from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and colleagues conducted a cohort study to examine the role of family history in the pathogenesis of EOAF in racial and ethnic minorities. A total of 664 patients were administered questionnaires that included questions on family history of AF.

The researchers found that 49 percent of probands with EOAF had a family history, compared with 22 percent of patients with non-EOAF (difference, 27 percent). Compared with probands with EOAF of European descent, those of African or Hispanic descent had increased adjusted odds of having a first-degree relative with AF (adjusted odds ratio, 2.69 and 9.25 versus 2.51). Across the three racial and ethnic groups, probands with EOAF were more likely to have a first-degree relative with AF compared with those with non-EOAF (adjusted odds ratio, 3.02). Compared with racially and ethnically matched control patients with non-EOAF, African American, European American, and Hispanic/Latino probands with EOAF were more likely to have a first-degree relative with confirmed AF.

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