Atrial fibrillation in hospitalized patients with exacerbation of COPD: prevalence and associated factors

<bold>Introduction:</bold> Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often presents with comorbidities, one of which is atrial fibrillation (AF). The study aims were: 1) To analyze the prevalence of atrial fibrillation in patients hospitalized due to COPD exacerbation, and 2) to compare the prevalence of comorbidities and in-hospital mortality in COPD patients with and without AF. <bold>Methods:</bold> Data from the Registry of Specialized Care Activity - Minimum Basic Data Set were utilized to select all patients aged ≥ 40 years with a diagnosis of COPD in Spain, from 2016 to 2021. The study population was stratified according to the presence or absence of AF. <bold>Results:</bold> We identified 399,196 patients who met the inclusion criteria (20.58% with AF). The prevalence of AF increased with age (5.17% in patients aged 40 to 69 years, 21.24% in patients aged 65 to 74 years, and 42.12% in patients aged 75 to 84 years) and was higher in males (21.9%) than in females (15.4%). Regarding comorbidities, patients with AF had a higher frequency of obesity (15.0% vs. 13.0%), diabetes (33.6% vs. 26.4%), myocardial infarction (6.88% vs. 5.03%), heart failure (45.2% vs. 17.1%), peripheral vascular disease (9.24% vs. 7.13%), and cerebrovascular disease (5.40% vs. 3.91%) compared to those without AF. Moreover, in-hospital mortality was higher in patients with AF (7.8%) than in those without AF (4.8%). <bold>Conclusions:</bold> AF is a prevalent condition in patients hospitalized for COPD exacerbation, associated with higher in-hospital mortality. The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and comorbidities is higher in patients with AF.