Sex Specific Differences in Pattern of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Purpose: To assess the proportion of paroxysmal and non-paroxysmal AF in patients with UC versus Crohn’s Disease (CD) under age 60 stratified by sex.

Material and Methods: Patients under age 60 with the diagnosis of both AF and IBD from 2012 – 2022 were identified from the electronic health records at a large tertiary medical from a search utilizing ICD-10 codes. Categorical variables were analyzed using a chi square test, and continuous variables were expressed as mean +/- standard deviation and compared using a paired or unpaired t-test.

Results: A total of 93 patients with AF and IBD under age 60 were identified (mean age 49.5 years, female 46%). There were 51 patients with CD and 42 with UC, and 82 patients had paroxysmal AF. Men with UC had a significantly greater prevalence of persistent AF than those with CD [22% vs 5%, p 0.04]. For women with UC and CD there was no statistically significant difference in prevalence of AF subtype.

Conclusions: In this single-center study, men under 60 with UC had a higher proportion of persistent AF pattern than men with CD. Further bench and clinical studies are needed to elucidate the mechanism for more persistent AF in men with UC and confirm the findings.