Atrial fibrillation, stroke and dementia in the very old: A population-based study

We explored the association of chronic AF with stroke, dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) among community-dwelling elderly people. The study population consisted of 685 individuals from Stockholm (The Kungsholmen Project) who were aged 78 years and were free of dementia and clinical stroke. During the 6-year follow-up, 170 subjects developed dementia, and 86 persons experienced first-ever stroke. The incidence rate (per 1000 person-years) of dementia, AD and first-ever stroke was 72.3, 52.2, and 52.2 in persons with AF and 63.8, 54.6 and 30.6 in those without AF, respectively. AF was associated with the hazard ratio of 1.8 (95%CI, 1.0-3.4) for first-ever stroke, but not significantly associated with dementia or AD.