medRxiv [Preprint]. 2026 Apr 17:2026.04.13.26350644. doi: 10.64898/2026.04.13.26350644.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Poor physical function has been associated with higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. However, the association between physical function and atrial fibrillation (AF) remains understudied. The comprehensive investigation of the association between physical function and incident AF risk could highlight a novel target for AF prevention.
METHODS: A total of 4,803 participants without diagnosed AF from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study cohort with physical function assessed in 2011-2013 were studied. Physical function was measured using Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), 4-meter walk time, and grip strength. Hospital discharge codes and death certificates were used to ascertain incident AF through 2022, and through 2020 for participants from Jackson. Cox regression was used to assess the association between physical function and incident AF risk, adjusting for multiple covariates. Z-score transformations were performed to identify the physical function measure most strongly associated with incident AF risk, and SPPB component analysis was performed to identify the most influential SPPB component.
RESULTS: Mean age of the study participants was 75.1 ± 5.0 years, with 41.2% being male participants and 22.2% being black participants. During a median follow-up of 9.2 years, there were 809 incident AF events. SPPB (HR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.90-0.96, per 1-point increase) and grip strength (HR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.78-0.96, per 10kg increase) were inversely associated with incident AF risk, while 4-meter walk time (HR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.03-1.13, per 1-second increase) was positively associated with incident AF risk. SPPB had the strongest association with incident AF risk. Within SPPB, only the chair stand component was significantly associated with incident AF risk.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that better physical function is associated with reduced incident AF risk, with higher SPPB having the strongest association. Given the modifiable nature of physical function, these findings highlight a potential novel target for AF prevention in aging populations.
WHAT IS KNOWN: Physical function has been associated with cardiovascular diseases, however, the relationship between physical function and incident atrial fibrillation (AF) remains understudied.
WHAT THE STUDY ADDS: This study found that better Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), 4-meter walk time, and grip strength were all independently associated with reduced risk of incident AF.In this study, higher SPPB was most strongly associated with reduced risk of incident AF, implying the importance of multi-domain measures of physical function.This study found that within SPPB, higher chair stand component score was the only component significantly associated with reduced risk of incident AF, highlighting the critical role of muscle strength in the association between physical function and risk of incident AF.The results suggest that physical function may be a novel modifiable target for AF prevention.
PMID:42064917 | PMC:PMC13127546 | DOI:10.64898/2026.04.13.26350644