Predictive value of remnant cholesterol level for all-cause mortality in heart failure patients
Lang Zhao, Xuemei Zhao, Pengchao Tian, Lin Liang, Boping Huang, Liyan Huang, Jiayu Feng, Yuhui Zhang, Jian Zhang
Abstract
Background Lower cholesterol levels are associated with increased mortality in heart failure (HF) patients. Remnant cholesterol corresponds to all cholesterol not found in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The prognostic role of remnant cholesterol in HF remains unknown. Objective To reveal the relationship between the baseline remnant cholesterol level and all-cause mortality in HF patients. Methods This study enrolled 2,823 patients hospitalized for HF. Kaplan–Meier analysis, Cox regression, C-statistic, net reclassification improvement (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) were used to evaluate the prognostic value of remnant cholesterol for all-cause mortality in HF. Results The mortality rate was lowest in the fourth quartile of remnant cholesterol, which had an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for death of 0.56 [HR: 0.39, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.46–0.68, p < 0.001] relative to the first quartile. After adjustment, a one-unit increase in the level of remnant cholesterol was associated with a 41% decrease in the risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.47–0.73, p < 0.001). A refinement in risk prediction was observed after adding remnant cholesterol quartile to the original model (ΔC-statistic = 0.010, 95% CI: 0.003–0.017; NRI = 0.036, 95% CI: 0.003–0.070; IDI = 0.025, 95% CI: 0.018–0.033; all p < 0.05). Conclusion Low remnant cholesterol levels are associated with increased all-cause mortality in HF patients. The addition of the remnant cholesterol quartile improved the predictive value over traditional risk factors. Clinical Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov, Unique Identifier: NCT02664818.