Insulin resistance, left atrial anatomical remodeling, and recurrence in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing radiofrequency ablation

Abstract

Background Insulin resistance (IR) is associated with both the anatomical remodeling of the left atrium and the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the exact extent of this correlation and its influence on AF recurrence in individuals undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) remains unclear. Methods A total of 910 patients with AF who underwent RFCA were included in this analysis. IR was evaluated using the triglyceride glucose-body mass index (TyG-BMI), while the left atrium's enlargement was assessed using the left atrium anteroposterior dimension (LAD). The association between TyG-BMI and LAD with AF recurrence was examined through the Kaplan-Meier method, restricted cubic splines (RCS), and adjusted Cox regression. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was conducted to evaluate the predictive capabilities of TyG-BMI and LAD for outcomes. Additionally, mediation analysis was utilized to explore the indirect impact of TyG-BMI on AF recurrence mediated through LAD. Results Over a median 12-month follow-up period, 189 (20.77%) cases of AF recurrence were observed. The likelihood of AF recurrence rose with elevated TyG-BMI and LAD levels. After adjusting for multiple factors, both TyG-BMI and LAD were significant predictors of AF recurrence. Subgroup and interaction analyses reaffirmed the consistency of the main findings. Both TyG-BMI (non-linear, P = 0.302) and LAD (non-linear, P = 0.001) demonstrated a positive dose-response relationship with AF recurrence, as depicted by the RCS curves. The areas under the ROC curves for TyG-BMI and LAD in predicting AF recurrence were 0.634 and 0.639, respectively. Notably, LAD partly mediated the association between TyG-BMI and AF recurrence, accounting for an 19.23% proportion.