Baseline characteristics of study patients before and after propensity score matching
| Variables | All patients | Propensity score matched | ||||
| Solitary AFL (n=12 223) | AFL then AF (n=5397) | STD | Solitary AFL (n=4101) | AFL then AF (n=4101) | STD | |
| CHA2DS2-VASc components | ||||||
| Female sex | 4867 (39.8) | 2060 (38.2) | 0.03 | 1570 (38.3) | 1570 (38.3) | <0.01 |
| Age (years) | 68.7±14.9 | 71.3±12.5 | −0.19 | 70.1±12.5 | 70.4±12.5 | −0.02 |
| Age group | ||||||
| <65 (score 0) | 4225 (34.6) | 1458 (27.0) | 0.16 | 1212 (29.6) | 1212 (29.6) | <0.01 |
| 65–74 (score 1) | 3175 (26.0) | 1533 (28.4) | −0.06 | 1201 (29.3) | 1201 (29.3) | <0.01 |
| ≥75 (score 2) | 4823 (39.5) | 2406 (44.6) | −0.10 | 1688 (41.2) | 1688 (41.2) | <0.01 |
| Heart failure | 1622 (13.3) | 916 (17.0) | −0.10 | 492 (12.0) | 521 (12.7) | −0.02 |
| Hypertension | 6987 (57.2) | 3231 (59.9) | −0.06 | 2383 (58.1) | 2382 (58.1) | <0.01 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 2295 (18.8) | 999 (18.5) | 0.01 | 771 (18.8) | 677 (16.5) | 0.06 |
| Stroke/thromboembolism | 1829 (15.0) | 848 (15.7) | −0.02 | 530 (12.9) | 547 (13.3) | −0.01 |
| Ischaemic stroke | 1611 (13.2) | 749 (13.9) | −0.02 | 475 (11.6) | 486 (11.9) | −0.01 |
| Systemic thromboembolism | 172 (1.4) | 93 (1.7) | −0.03 | 34 (0.8) | 61 (1.5) | −0.06 |
| Venous thromboembolism | 133 (1.1) | 43 (0.8) | 0.03 | 35 (0.9) | 24 (0.6) | 0.03 |
| Vascular disease | 4529 (37.1) | 2273 (42.1) | −0.10 | 1658 (40.4) | 1690 (41.2) | −0.02 |
| Myocardial infarction | 647 (5.3) | 263 (4.9) | 0.02 | 199 (4.9) | 176 (4.3) | 0.03 |
| Peripheral arterial disease | 316 (2.6) | 135 (2.5) | 0.01 | 166 (4.0) | 176 (4.3) | −0.01 |
| Ischaemic heart disease | 4284 (35.0) | 2172 (40.2) | −0.11 | 1557 (38.0) | 1583 (38.6) | −0.01 |
| CHA2DS2-VASc score | 3.0±1.8 | 3.2±1.8 | −0.13 | 3.1±1.7 | 3.1±1.7 | <0.01 |
| CHA2DS2-VASc score classification | ||||||
| 0 | 923 (7.6) | 353 (6.5) | 0.04 | 305 (7.4) | 305 (7.4) | <0.01 |
| 1 | 1920 (15.7) | 582 (10.8) | 0.15 | 506 (12.3) | 506 (12.3) | <0.01 |
| 2 | 2267 (18.5) | 976 (18.1) | 0.01 | 776 (18.9) | 776 (18.9) | <0.01 |
| 3 | 2428 (19.9) | 1168 (21.6) | −0.04 | 916 (22.3) | 916 (22.3) | <0.01 |
| 4 | 2178 (17.8) | 1016 (18.8) | −0.03 | 780 (19.0) | 780 (19.0) | <0.01 |
| 5 | 1340 (11.0) | 693 (12.8) | −0.06 | 478 (11.7) | 478 (11.7) | <0.01 |
| 6 | 688 (5.6) | 382 (7.1) | −0.06 | 218 (5.3) | 218 (5.3) | <0.01 |
| 7 | 350 (2.9) | 169 (3.1) | −0.02 | 94 (2.3) | 94 (2.3) | <0.01 |
| 8 | 110 (0.9) | 44 (0.8) | 0.01 | 23 (0.6) | 23 (0.6) | <0.01 |
| 9 | 19 (0.2) | 14 (0.3) | −0.02 | 5 (0.1) | 5 (0.1) | <0.01 |
| COPD (included in HATCH score) | 2223 (18.2) | 1117 (20.7) | −0.06 | 712 (17.4) | 797 (19.4) | −0.05 |
| HATCH score* | 1.6±1.3 | 1.7±1.3 | −0.12 | 1.5±1.3 | 1.6±1.3 | −0.03 |
| HATCH score classification | ||||||
| 0 | 2764 (22.6) | 964 (17.9) | 0.12 | 867 (21.1) | 842 (20.5) | 0.02 |
| 1 | 3965 (32.4) | 1707 (31.6) | 0.02 | 1387 (33.8) | 1367 (33.3) | 0.01 |
| 2 | 2806 (23.0) | 1346 (24.9) | −0.05 | 1038 (25.3) | 1028 (25.1) | 0.01 |
| 3 | 1461 (12.0) | 771 (14.3) | −0.07 | 478 (11.7) | 505 (12.3) | −0.02 |
| 4 | 843 (6.9) | 425 (7.9) | −0.04 | 234 (5.7) | 265 (6.5) | −0.03 |
| 5 | 323 (2.6) | 150 (2.8) | −0.01 | 80 (2.0) | 80 (2.0) | <0.01 |
| 6 | 61 (0.5) | 34 (0.6) | −0.02 | 17 (0.4) | 14 (0.3) | 0.01 |
| Other comorbidities | ||||||
| Dyslipidaemia | 1478 (12.1) | 607 (11.2) | 0.03 | 494 (12.0) | 439 (10.7) | 0.04 |
| Gout | 1246 (10.2) | 623 (11.5) | −0.04 | 460 (11.2) | 464 (11.3) | <0.01 |
| Renal function status | ||||||
| Normal | 10 449 (85.5) | 4672 (86.6) | −0.03 | 3565 (86.9) | 3594 (87.6) | −0.02 |
| Non-dialysis CKD | 1380 (11.3) | 590 (10.9) | 0.01 | 421 (10.3) | 409 (10.0) | 0.01 |
| Dialysis | 394 (3.2) | 135 (2.5) | 0.04 | 115 (2.8) | 98 (2.4) | 0.03 |
| Immune disease | 232 (1.9) | 105 (1.9) | <0.01 | 92 (2.2) | 80 (2.0) | 0.02 |
| Abnormal liver function | 1408 (11.5) | 605 (11.2) | 0.01 | 458 (11.2) | 462 (11.3) | <0.01 |
| Malignancy | 952 (7.8) | 378 (7.0) | 0.03 | 260 (6.3) | 289 (7.0) | −0.03 |
Continuous data are presented as mean±SD.
*HATCH score: based on heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75, transient ischemic attack or stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
AF, atrial fibrillation; AFL, atrial flutter; CKD, chronic kidney disease; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; STD, standardised mean difference.