Shift work is associated with 10-year incidence of atrial fibrillation in younger but not older individuals: results from the Tromsø Study

Shift work is associated with coronary artery disease and stroke. However, comparatively little is known about the association between shift work and atrial fibrillation (AF). Therefore, we studied if shift work is also associated with incident AF and if this association differs depending on sex and age.

We studied 22 339 participants with paid work from the population based Tromsø Study, of whom 21% reported shift work at baseline. When adjusted for AF risk factors, shift work was associated with 10-year incident AF in participants <40 years but not ≥40 years of age. Shift work was not associated with incident AF during extensive follow-up up to 31 years, and there were no sex differences.

Our findings demonstrate that future studies into shift work and AF, as well as potential preventive measures in shift workers, should also focus on younger individuals.

The article was published in Open Heart (https://openheart.bmj.com/content/9/2/e002086.long).

Shift work is associated with 10-year incidence of atrial fibrillation in younger but not older individuals: results from the Tromsø Study

Shift work is associated with coronary artery disease and stroke. However, comparatively little is known about the association between shift work and atrial fibrillation (AF). Therefore, we studied if shift work is also associated with incident AF and if this association differs depending on sex and age.

We studied 22 339 participants (age 37.0±9.8 years, 49% women) with paid work from the third (1986–1987), fourth (1994–1995), fifth (2001) and sixth (2007–2008) surveys of the population-based

Tromsø Study, Norway. Participants were followed up for ECG-confirmed AF through 2016. Shift work was assessed by questionnaire at each survey. We used unadjusted and multivariable-adjusted

Cox regression models to study the association of shift work with 10-year incident AF and incident AF during extensive follow-up up to 31 years. Interactions with sex and age were tested in the multivariable model.

In a large population-based cohort, we found that shift work was associated with 10-year

incident AF in individuals <40 years but not ≥40 years of age.

Results Shift work was reported by 21% of participants at the first attended survey. There was an  interaction between shift work and age for 10-year incident AF (p=0.069). When adjusted for AF risk factors, shift work was significantly associated with 10-year incident AF in participants <40 years (HR 2.90, 95% CI 1.12 to 7.49) but not≥40 years of age (HR 0.90, 95% CI 0.53 to 1.51). Shift work was not associated with incident AF during extensive follow-up (HR 1.03, 95% CI 0.89 to 1.20). There was no interaction between shift work and sex.

Shift work was associated with 10-year incident AF in individuals <40 years but not ≥40 years of age. Shift work was not associated with incident AF during extensive follow-up up to 31 years, and there were no sex differences.

Our findings demonstrate that future studies into shift work and AF, as well as potential preventive

measures in shift workers, should also focus on younger individuals.

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