Statistical analysis
To minimize between-group differences at baseline, 38 athletes that
underwent first time CA for paroxysmal AF in our Institution and
Non-Athletes were matched by sex, age (± 5 y) and year of CA (± 2 y).
Continuous variables are presented as mean ± standard deviation, and
they were compared using t test for independent samples.
Non-normally distributed variables are presented as median and
interquartile ranges, and they were compared with the Wilcoxon rank sum
test. Categorical data were compared using χ2 test or Fisher’s exact
test, as appropriate
The association of AF recurrences in the two groups were tested by
multivariate Cox regression model and Kaplan Meier excluding any episode
occurred in the first three months (blanking period). Log-rank tests
were used to compare strata. All tests were 2-tailed, and
P<0.05 was required for statistical significance. All analyses
were performed using SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC).