Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24728477›Full record

ArticlePloS one2014

The relationship between total bilirubin levels and total mortality in older adults: the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2004.

Kwok-Leung Ong, Matthew A Allison, Bernard M Y Cheung, Ben J Wu, Philip J Barter, Kerry-Anne Rye

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 15% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Kwok-Leung OngCentre for Vascular Research, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Matthew A AllisonDepartment of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America.
Bernard M Y CheungDepartment of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Ben J WuCentre for Vascular Research, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Philip J BarterCentre for Vascular Research, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Kerry-Anne RyeCentre for Vascular Research, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
University of Sydney · AUUNSW Sydney · AUUniversity of California, San Diego · USUniversity of Hong Kong · HK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveDue to its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, bilirubin has been associated with reduced cardiovascular risk. A recent study demonstrated an L-shaped association of pre-treatment total bilirubin levels with total mortality in a statin-treated cohort. We therefore investigated the association of total bilirubin levels with total mortality in a nationally representative sample of older adults from the general population.

methodsA total of 4,303 participants aged ≥ 60 years from the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2004 with mortality data followed up through December 31, 2006 were included in this analysis, with a mean follow-up period of 4.5 years.

resultsParticipants with total bilirubin levels of 0.1-0.4 mg/dl had the highest mortality rate (19.8%). Compared with participants with total bilirubin levels of 0.5-0.7 mg/dl and in a multivariable regression model, a lower total bilirubin level of 0.1-0.4 mg/dl was associated with higher risk of total mortality (hazard ratios, 1.36; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.72; P = 0.012), while higher levels (≥ 0.8 mg/dl) also tended to be associated with higher risk of total mortality, but this did not reach statistical significance (hazard ratios, 1.24; 95% confidence interval, 0.98-1.56; P = 0.072).

conclusionIn this nationally representative sample of older adults, the association of total bilirubin levels with total mortality was the highest among those with a level between 0.1 and 0.4 mg/dl. Further studies are needed to investigate whether higher total bilirubin levels could be associated with a higher mortality risk, compared to a level of 0.5-0.7 mg/dl.

Indexed as

MortalityNutrition SurveysAdultAgedBilirubinFemaleHumansMaleProportional Hazards ModelsRacial GroupsSmokingSurvival AnalysisUnited StatesBilirubin

Identifiers

PMID24728477
PMCPMC3984185
OpenAlexW2078618639

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.