Vaginal fibrillation increases the risk of future dementia by 21% in patients under 70 years of age and the risk of early dementia (diagnosis before the age of 65) by 36%, according to research.

Vaginal fibrillation causes irregular heartbeat and is relatively common, affecting 2% -3% of the general population, with the growth rate increasing with age.

In the study, presented at the conference of the European Cardiology Society Ehra 2025, scientists evaluated the independent correlation between atrial fibrillation and cases of dementia in Catalonia, Spain. The observation study included more than two and a half million people who, in 2007, were at least 45 years old and had no prior diagnosis of dementia.

The data came from the system for developing research in primary care, which provides anonymous data for over 80% of the Catalonian population. The follow -up period lasted 15 years, from 2007 to 2021. The average monitoring was 13 years.

As it was found, The correlation of vaginal fibrillation and dementia was stronger in adults under 70 years of age and in the appearance of early dementia. Specifically, it was found that at ages 45-50, patients with vaginal fibrillation were 3.3 times more likely to develop dementia than those without vaginal fibrillation. More broadly, in patients diagnosed with vaginal fibrillation before the age of 70, the condition increased the risk of dementia by 21%. Even stronger was the effect of atrial fibrillation than early onset, as atrial fibrillation increases the risk by 36%. On the contrary, patients over 70 years of age have found no correlation between vaginal fibrillation and dementia.

Researchers point out that it is the largest European population study that evaluates the correlation between atrial fibrillation and dementia. “We must now investigate whether early detection strategies and aggressive treatment of atrial fibrillation in younger patients can help reduce the risk of dementia and change the natural course of the disease,” they conclude, “they conclude.