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Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research

Date Submitted: Sep 30, 2022
Date Accepted: Nov 30, 2022

The final, peer-reviewed published version of this preprint can be found here:

Step Count, Self-reported Physical Activity, and Predicted 5-Year Risk of Atrial Fibrillation: Cross-sectional Analysis

Shapira-Daniels A, Kornej J, Spartano NL, Wang X, Zhang Y, Pathiravasan CH, Liu C, Trinquart L, Borrelli B, McManus DD, Murabito JM, Benjamin EJ, Lin H

Step Count, Self-reported Physical Activity, and Predicted 5-Year Risk of Atrial Fibrillation: Cross-sectional Analysis

J Med Internet Res 2023;25:e43123

DOI: 10.2196/43123

PMID: 36877540

PMCID: 10028513

Step Count, Self-Reported Physical Activity, and Five-Year Predicted Risk for Atrial Fibrillation: Cross-Sectional Analysis

  • Ayelet Shapira-Daniels; 
  • Jelena Kornej; 
  • Nicole L. Spartano; 
  • Xuzhi Wang; 
  • Yuankai Zhang; 
  • Chathurangi H. Pathiravasan; 
  • Chunyu Liu; 
  • Ludovic Trinquart; 
  • Belinda Borrelli; 
  • David D. McManus; 
  • Joanne M. Murabito; 
  • Emelia J. Benjamin; 
  • Honghuang Lin

ABSTRACT

Background:

Sedentary lifestyle is a known risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF). Wearable devices such as smartwatches present an opportunity to investigate relations between daily step count and AF risk. The objective of this study is to investigate the association between daily step count and predicted 5-year risk of atrial fibrillation.

Objective:

To investigate the association between daily step count and predicted 5-year risk of AF.

Methods:

Participants from the electronic Framingham Heart Study (eFHS) utilized an Apple smartwatch. Individuals with diagnosed AF were excluded. Daily step count, watch wear time (hours, days), and self-reported physical activity were collected. Individual five-year risk of AF was estimated using The Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology AF (CHARGE-AF) score. Relation between daily step counts and five-year predicted AF risk was examined with linear regression adjusted for age, sex, and wear time. Secondary analyses examined effect modification by sex and obesity (body mass index ≥30 kg/m2), as well as relation between self-reported physical activity and predicted 5-year AF risk.

Results:

We examined 923 eFHS participants (mean age 53±9 years, 61% female) with median daily step of 7227 (25th-75th percentile 5699-8970). Most participants (89.2%) had <2.5% CHARGE-AF risk. Every 1000 steps were associated with 0.08% lower CHARGE-AF risk (P<0.001). A stronger association was observed in men and individuals with obesity. In contrast, self-reported physical activity was not associated with CHARGE-AF risk.

Conclusions:

Higher daily step count was associated with lower predicted 5-year risk of AF, and this relation was stronger in men and participants with obesity. The utility of a wearable daily step counter for risk reduction for AF merits further investigation. Clinical Trial: n/a


 Citation

Please cite as:

Shapira-Daniels A, Kornej J, Spartano NL, Wang X, Zhang Y, Pathiravasan CH, Liu C, Trinquart L, Borrelli B, McManus DD, Murabito JM, Benjamin EJ, Lin H

Step Count, Self-reported Physical Activity, and Predicted 5-Year Risk of Atrial Fibrillation: Cross-sectional Analysis

J Med Internet Res 2023;25:e43123

DOI: 10.2196/43123

PMID: 36877540

PMCID: 10028513

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