Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 100968539 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1471-2261 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14712261 NLM ISO Abbreviation: BMC Cardiovasc Disord Subsets: MEDLINE

Atrial Flutter*/mortality , Atrial Flutter*/diagnosis , Atrial Flutter*/epidemiology , Atrial Fibrillation*/mortality , Atrial Fibrillation*/diagnosis , Atrial Fibrillation*/epidemiology , Alcohol Drinking*/adverse effects , Alcohol Drinking*/mortality , Alcohol Drinking*/epidemiology , Alcohol Drinking*/trends , Health Status Disparities*, Humans ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Global Health ; Global Burden of Disease/trends ; Time Factors ; Risk Factors ; Disability-Adjusted Life Years ; Risk Assessment ; Adult ; Sex Factors ; Aged, 80 and over ; Age Factors ; Sex Distribution

Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The GBD study’s protocol has been approved by the research ethics board at the University of Washington (UW). The GBD studies must be conducted in full compliance with UW policies and procedures, as well as applicable federal, state, and local laws. Therefore, all ethical standards are justified by properly citing the respective sources ( View item ). Consequently, ethical approval and consent procedure are not required for this study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Clinical trial number: Not applicable.
Objectives: To evaluate the global burden of atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL) attributable to high alcohol consumption (HAC) from 1990 to 2021, and to examine its spatiotemporal distribution characteristics.
Study Design: An observational study based on Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2021 data.
Methods: Using GBD 2021 data, we analyzed trends in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and mortality for AF/AFL attributable to HAC at the global, regional, and national levels from 1990 to 2021, with a focus on differences by gender, age, and socio-demographic index (SDI).
Results: DALYs for HAC-attributable AF/AFL rose from 155,703 (95% UI: 105,255-206,083) in 1990 to 362,698 (95% UI: 263,321-465,594) in 2021, while mortality increased from 4,308 (95% UI: 3,000-5,597) to 11,908 (95% UI: 7,826-30,753). Males and individuals aged ≥ 60 years experienced the highest burdens. Australasia recorded the highest DALYs and mortality in 2021, while South Asia showed the steepest increases, with EAPCs of 2.95 and 4.18, respectively. Higher SDI regions showed greater burdens, peaking at an SDI of 0.8 before declining.
Conclusions: HAC contributes significantly to the global AF/AFL burden, with marked regional and demographic disparities. Targeted interventions are urgently needed to address this growing public health challenge.
(© 2025. The Author(s).)