Summary of the published studies analysing the relationship between atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter and endurance sport practice
| Studies | Type of study | % Men | Age (years) | Type of sports | Cases/controls | Prevalence of AF (%) (patients/controls) | Relative risk for AF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaarjalainen et al9 | Longitudinal case/control | 100 | 47±5 runners | Orienteering | 262/373 | 5.3/0.9 (p=0.012) | 5.5 (95% CI 1.3 to 24.4) |
| 49±5 controls | |||||||
| Mont et al10 | Retrospective/compared to general population | 100 | 44±13 sports | Endurance sports >3 h/week | 70 LAF | 63/15 (p=0.05) | N/R |
| 49±11 non-sports | |||||||
| Elosua et al12 | Retrospective case/control | 100 | 41±13 AF patients | Endurance sports | 51/109 | 32/14 (p=0.01) | 2.87 (95% CI 1.20 to 6.91) |
| 44±11 controls | Current practice and >1500 cumulated hours of practice | ||||||
| Heidbuchel et al14 | Case/control in patients undergoing flutter ablation | 83 | 53±9 sports | ||||
| 60±10 controls | Cycling, running or swimming >3 h/week | 31/106 | 81/48 (p<0.01) | 1.81 (1.10–2.98) | |||
| Molina et al15 | Longitudinal case/control | 100 | 39±9 runners | Marathon running | 252/305 | 5/0.7 (p=0.013) | 8.80 (95% CI 1.2 to 61.2) |
| 50±13 sedentary | |||||||
| Baldesberger et al13 | Longitudinal case/control | 100 | 67±7 cyclist | Cycling | 134/62 | 10/0 (p=0.028) | |
| 66±6 golfers | |||||||
| Mont et al GIRAFA study16 | Prospective case/control | 69 | 48±11 | Endurance sports | 107/107 | N/R | 7.31 (95% CI 2.33 to 22.9) |
| Grimsmo et al19 | Prospective | 100 | Group I, 54–62; group II, 72–80;group III, 87–92 | Cross-country skiers | Group I, 33; group II, 37; group III, 8 | 12.8% of LAF | Long PQ (rr=0.38, p=0.001 and rr=0.27, p=0.02), bradycardia (rr=0.29, p=0.012) were associated risk factors |
| Winhelm et al20 | Retrospective | 100 | 42±7 | Running | 70 cases, stratified according to lifetime training hours: low-training group: <1500 h: 17 medium-training group:1500–4500 h: 21 high-training group:>4500 h: 22 | 6.7% | Signal-averaged P-wave duration (p=0.026), LA volume (p=0.001), vagal activity (p=0.002), PAC (p=0.026) increased in high training group. |
LA, left atrial; PAC, premature atrial contractions.