Anticoagulation Patterns Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Atrial Fibrillation

• Published in: Journal of primary care & community health Vol. 15; p. 21501319241243005
• Main Authors: Costello, Meaghan, Tung, Ericka E, Fischer, Karen M, Jaeger, Thomas M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States SAGE Publications 01-01-2024; SAGE Publishing
• Subjects: Original Research; older adult; frailty; geriatric syndrome; anticoagulation
• ISSN: 2150-1319; 2150-1327
• DOI: 10.1177/21501319241243005

To assess clinicians' prescribing practices for anticoagulation in older adults with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter (AF/F) and determine factors common among those without anticoagulation.
We performed a community-based retrospective cohort study of adults aged 65 years and older with a history of nonvalvular AF/F to determine the rate of oral anticoagulation utilization. We also assessed for associations between anticoagulation use and comorbid conditions and common geriatric syndromes.
A total of 3832 patients with a diagnosis of nonvalvular AF/F were included (mean [SD] age, 79.9 [8.4] years), 2693 (70.3%) of whom were receiving anticoagulation (51.7%, a vitamin K antagonist; 48.1%, a direct-acting oral anticoagulant). Patients with higher Elderly Risk Assessment index (ERA) scores, a surrogate for health vulnerability, received anticoagulation less often than patients with lower scores. The percentage of patients with a history of falling was higher among those who did not receive anticoagulation than among those who did (44.4% vs 32.8%;
 < .001). Similarly, a diagnosis of dementia was more common in the no-anticoagulation group than the anticoagulation group (18.5% vs 12.7%;
 < .001).
A substantial proportion of older adults with AF/F do not receive anticoagulation. Those without anticoagulation had higher risk of health deterioration based on higher ERA scores and had a higher incidence of dementia and fall history. This suggests that the presence of geriatric syndromes may influence the decision to withhold anticoagulation.