TY - JOUR
T1 - Design of the Swiss Atrial Fibrillation Cohort Study (Swiss-AF)
T2 - Structural brain damage and cognitive decline among patients with atrial fibrillation
AU - Swiss-AF Study Investigators
AU - Conen, David
AU - Rodondi, Nicolas
AU - Müller, Andreas
AU - Beer, Juerg H.
AU - Auricchio, Angelo
AU - Ammann, Peter
AU - Hayoz, Daniel
AU - Kobza, Richard
AU - Moschovitis, Giorgio
AU - Shah, Dipen
AU - Schläpfer, Jürg
AU - Novak, Jan
AU - Di Valentino, Marcello
AU - Erne, Paul
AU - Sticherling, Christian
AU - Bonati, Leo H.
AU - Ehret, Georg
AU - Roten, Laurent
AU - Fischer, Urs
AU - Monsch, Andreas
AU - Stippich, Christoph
AU - Wuerfel, Jens
AU - Schwenkglenks, Matthias
AU - Kühne, Michael
AU - Osswald, Stefan
N1 - Funding Information:
The Swiss-AF cohort study is supported by a grant of the Swiss National Science Foundation (Grant number 33CS30_1148474). The medication adherence substudy is being supported by Daiichi-Sankyo Switzerland. JH Beer has received grant support, consultant fees and CME talk fees from Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi-Sankyo, Pfizer and Sanofi Aventis. U Fischer received consultant fees from Covidien and an unrestricted grant from Boehringer Ingelheim for the SWITCH trial. J Wuerfel is the CEO of MIAC AG, Basel. G Moschovitis received consultant fees from Boehringer Ingelheim. M Kuehne received consulting fees from Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi-Sankyo, Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb. D Conen received consulting fees and research grants from Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi-Sankyo, Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, EMH Swiss Medical Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2017/7/10
Y1 - 2017/7/10
N2 - BACKGROUND: Several studies found that patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) have an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia over time. However, the magnitude of the problem, associated risk factors and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. METHODS: This article describes the design and methodology of the Swiss Atrial Fibrillation (Swiss-AF) Cohort Study, a prospective multicentre national cohort study of 2400 patients across 13 sites in Switzerland. Eligible patients must have documented AF. Main exclusion criteria are the inability to provide informed consent and the presence of exclusively short episodes of reversible forms of AF. All patients undergo extensive phenotyping and genotyping, including repeated assessment of cognitive functions, quality of life, disability, electrocardiography and cerebral magnetic resonance imaging. We also collect information on health related costs, and we assemble a large biobank. Key clinical outcomes in Swiss-AF are death, stroke, systemic embolism, bleeding, hospitalisation for heart failure and myocardial infarction. Information on outcomes and updates on other characteristics are being collected during yearly follow-up visits. RESULTS: Up to 7 April 2017, we have enrolled 2133 patients into Swiss-AF. With the current recruitment rate of 15 to 20 patients per week, we expect that the target sample size of 2400 patients will be reached by summer 2017. CONCLUSION: Swiss-AF is a large national prospective cohort of patients with AF in Switzerland. This study will provide important new information on structural and functional brain damage in patients with AF and on other AF related complications, using a large variety of genetic, phenotypic and health economic parameters.
AB - BACKGROUND: Several studies found that patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) have an increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia over time. However, the magnitude of the problem, associated risk factors and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. METHODS: This article describes the design and methodology of the Swiss Atrial Fibrillation (Swiss-AF) Cohort Study, a prospective multicentre national cohort study of 2400 patients across 13 sites in Switzerland. Eligible patients must have documented AF. Main exclusion criteria are the inability to provide informed consent and the presence of exclusively short episodes of reversible forms of AF. All patients undergo extensive phenotyping and genotyping, including repeated assessment of cognitive functions, quality of life, disability, electrocardiography and cerebral magnetic resonance imaging. We also collect information on health related costs, and we assemble a large biobank. Key clinical outcomes in Swiss-AF are death, stroke, systemic embolism, bleeding, hospitalisation for heart failure and myocardial infarction. Information on outcomes and updates on other characteristics are being collected during yearly follow-up visits. RESULTS: Up to 7 April 2017, we have enrolled 2133 patients into Swiss-AF. With the current recruitment rate of 15 to 20 patients per week, we expect that the target sample size of 2400 patients will be reached by summer 2017. CONCLUSION: Swiss-AF is a large national prospective cohort of patients with AF in Switzerland. This study will provide important new information on structural and functional brain damage in patients with AF and on other AF related complications, using a large variety of genetic, phenotypic and health economic parameters.
KW - Atrial fibrillation
KW - Cognitive decline
KW - Dementia
KW - Magnetic resonance imaging
KW - Stroke: epidemiology
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85025812236&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4414/smw.2017.14467
DO - 10.4414/smw.2017.14467
M3 - Article
C2 - 28695548
AN - SCOPUS:85025812236
SN - 1424-7860
VL - 147
JO - Swiss medical weekly
JF - Swiss medical weekly
M1 - w14467
ER -