Commonly used definitions in real-world studies may underestimate the prevalence of renal disease among nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients

Abstract

Aim: To describe comorbidities among treated nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients and assess the impact of using different time (†look back' windows) on the prevalence estimates. Patients & methods: We included all adult nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients newly initiating treatment in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Comorbidities included in the Charlson Comorbidity Index were defined using an all available, 3-and 1-year look back window before the start of treatment. Results: The prevalence of comorbidities was high and increased when using longer look back windows; the largest difference was observed for renal disease (+15.6%). Conclusion: Our findings emphasize the importance of using all available data when characterizing chronic conditions and highlights the high comorbidity burden in this population.