Patel, Yash

Aim: Studies in the past have linked obesity as a risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF). However, there is a paucity of data on this influence in young adult males. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate and stratify the association between BMI and AF among young men. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases were systematically reviewed for studies reporting long term-incidence of atrial fibrillation in young male adults (18-49 years) with obesity (BMI>30 kg/m 2 ), and overweight BMI (BMI 20-25 kg/m 2 ). Random effects models were used for the meta-analyses and subgroup analyses. I 2 statistics were used to identify (>50%) heterogeneity. A sensitivity analysis was performed using leave-one-out method. Results: Six studies with a total of 21,856,538 individuals were screened, out of which 6,732,531 young males with higher BMI and obesity were evaluated for the risk of Atrial fibrillation for a median follow-up duration of 6.3 years (3.3 - 29 years range). South Korean and Japanese studies together constituted 99.86% of the study population. Most commonly associated comorbidities were hypertension, diabetes mellitus type 2, dyslipidemia and smoking. The unadjusted HR showed a significant association between overweight (BMI 25-30) [OR:1.42, (95%CI:1.28-1.58, I 2 : 75.86%; p< 0.01] and obesity (BMI >30) and AF [OR: 2.02, (95%CI: 1.77-2.29, I 2 :64.3%; p=0.02] in young adult males. After multivariable analysis, the association remained significant for overweight [OR:1.22, 95%CI: 1.14-1.32, I 2 : 82.74%; p< 0.01] and obesity [OR:1.48, 95%CI: 1.29-1.71, I 2 : 90.43%; p< 0.01]. Sensitivity analysis indicated that no single study unduly influenced the pooled estimates. Conclusion: This meta-analysis revealed that higher BMI (overweight and obese) in young males is associated with an increased long-term risk of AF over a median follow-up duration of 6.3 years.