A study published in the American Heart Journal assessed the link between lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) mass and activity and incident atrial fibrillation. It was suggested that higher Lp-PLA2 mass and activity were associated with the development of atrial fibrillation in Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) and Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), however, this link was not seen in Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), a cohort of older individuals.

The researchers procured the data from 10,794 ARIC study participants aged 53-75 years, 5,425 MESA participants aged 45-84 years and 5,181 CHS participants aged 65-100 years. Incident atrial fibrillation was identified in each cohort by follow-up visit electrocardiograms, hospital discharge coding of atrial fibrillation, or Medicare claims data. The results showed that over a mean of 13.1, 10 years, and 11.5 years of follow-up, 1,439 (13%), 615 (11%), and 2,084 (40%) incident atrial fibrillation events occurred in ARIC, MESA, and CHS, respectively. In adjusted analyses, each SD increment in Lp-PLA2 activity was related to incident atrial fibrillation in ARIC (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.06-1.20) as well as MESA (HR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.05-1.46). Moreover, each SD increment in Lp-PLA2 mass was also associated with incident atrial fibrillation in MESA (HR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.11-1.41). However, no significant association was reported among CHS participants.