Effect of physical activity on incident atrial fibrillation in individuals with varying duration of diabetes: a nationwide population study

Abstract

Abstract Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) duration affects incident atrial fibrillation (AF) risk; the effect of physical activity on mitigating AF risk related to varying DM duration remains unknown. We assessed the effect of physical activity on incident AF in patients with DM with respect to known DM duration. Methods Patients with type 2 DM who underwent the Korean National Health Insurance Service health examination in 2015–2016 were grouped by DM duration: new onset and 1,500 MET-min/week was associated with the greatest AF risk reduction in patients with longer DM duration, highlighting the potential benefits of higher activity levels for AF prevention.

Keywords

• Atrial fibrillation
• Type 2 diabetes mellitus
• Physical activity