Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40413490›Full record

Observational studyLipids in health and disease2025

Elevated remnant cholesterol and triglycerides are predictors of increased total mortality in a primary health care population of 327,347 patients.

Anna Elise Engell, Lise Bathum, Volkert Siersma, Christen Lykkegaard Andersen, Bent Struer Lind, Henrik Løvendahl Jørgensen

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Lipids in health and disease, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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.

Anna Elise EngellDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark. [email protected].ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4123-0753
Lise BathumDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2431-7064
Volkert SiersmaDepartment of Public Health, Section of General Practice and Research Unit for General Practice, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1941-2681
Christen Lykkegaard AndersenDepartment of Public Health, Section of General Practice and Research Unit for General Practice, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7753-6768
Bent Struer LindDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3866-3128
Henrik Løvendahl JørgensenDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6374-761X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHyperlipidemia is a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality. Recently, remnant cholesterol has been introduced as an important risk factor. This study explores the association between levels of remnant cholesterol, compared to the traditional lipid parameters (total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) and triglycerides), and all-cause mortality in a population from general practice. Additionally, the impact of lipid-lowering treatment was evaluated.

methodsObservational cohort study based on the first lipid panel measurement from 327,347 patients from general practice in the Capital Region of Denmark between 2001 and 2018. LDL-C was calculated using the Friedewald equation. Patients with diagnoses or medical treatments that affected lipid levels were excluded. Cox proportional hazards models with restricted cubic splines were used to evaluate the association between all-cause mortality and lipid levels.

resultsA total of 34,014 patients died during the study. In an analysis censoring individuals receiving lipid lowering treatment after the lipid measurement, remnant cholesterol increased all-cause mortality risk linearly, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.6 (95% CI: 1.4; 1.7) at 3 mmol/L compared to a reference level of 0.9 mmol/L. Total cholesterol showed a U-shaped relationship with all-cause mortality with a HR of 2.5 (95% CI: 2.3; 2.7) at 2.5 mmol/L and 1.7 (95% CI: 1.6; 1.9) at 9 mmol/L (reference level 5 mmol/L). LDL-C and non-HDL-C exhibited a very similar U-shaped pattern. HDL-C also showed a U-shaped curve with a HR of 1.7 (95% CI: 1.6; 1.9) at 0.5 mmol/L and 1.4 (95% CI: 1.3; 1.5) at 3.5 mmol/L (reference level 1 mmol/L). The mortality risk related to triglycerides increased with rising triglyceride level, with a HR of 1.5 (95% CI: 1.3; 1.6) at 4.5 mmol/L (reference level 2 mmol/L).

conclusionsIn this study, high levels of all the six lipids as well as low levels of total cholesterol, LDL-C, non-HDL-C and HDL-C were associated with higher all-cause mortality in a primary health care population. Further research is needed, to consider if the current lipid lowering guidelines are appropriate and if more focus on remnant cholesterol levels should be applied.

Indexed as

Cardiovascular DiseasesCholesterolLipoproteinsTriglyceridesAdultAgedCholesterol, HDLCholesterol, LDLCohort StudiesDenmarkFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrimary Health CareProportional Hazards ModelsCholesterolCholesterol, HDLCholesterol, LDLLipoproteinsremnant-like particle cholesterolTriglyceridesAll-cause mortalityLipid lowering treatmentLipidsRemnant cholesterol

Identifiers

PMID40413490
PMCPMC12103803

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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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 Socratic graph.