Effectiveness of Vancomycin or Beta-Lactam Therapy in Ampicillin-Susceptible Enterococcus spp. Bloodstream Infections

Background: De-escalation to a beta-lactam improves outcomes for patients with a methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection (BSI). Whether a similar strategy is appropriate for enterococcal species is less clear. Objective: To determine whether definitive antibiotic selection affects outcomes for patients with an ampicillin-susceptible enterococcal BSI. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients over 18 years of age receiving definitive therapy with vancomycin or a beta-lactam for one or more blood cultures positive for Enterococcus spp. isolates between 2007 and 2014. Survival differences were examined using a Kaplan-Meier curve with log-rank test. Results: One-hundred eighty-six patients received definitive therapy with either vancomycin (n = 45, 24.2%) or a beta-lactam (n = 141, 75.8%). The primary outcome, 30-day all-cause mortality, was not different between groups (6.7% vs 7.1%; P = .992). A post hoc analysis of all-cause mortality 1 year after the index BSI was significantly higher in the vancomycin group (51% vs 33%; P = .032). In a Cox proportional hazards regression model, definitive vancomycin was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality at 1 year (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.39; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.41-4.04). Conclusion: For patients with an ampicillin-susceptible enterococcal BSI, definitive therapy with vancomycin or a beta-lactam was not independently associated with a difference in 30-day all-cause mortality. Whether definitive vancomycin is associated with poor long-term outcomes warrants further exploration.

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The Association between Sarcoidosis and Ischemic Heart Disease—A Healthcare Analysis of a Large Israeli Population

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10215067 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (21) ◽

pp. 5067

Author(s):

Tal Gonen ◽

Daphna Katz-Talmor ◽

Howard Amital ◽

Doron Comaneshter ◽

Arnon D. Cohen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Survival Analysis ◽

Heart Disease ◽

Ischemic Heart Disease ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Ischemic Heart ◽

Rank Test ◽

Increased Risk ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Long Term Follow Up

(1) Background: Inflammation plays a pivotal role in atherosclerosis, and the association between chronic inflammatory states and ischemic heart disease (IHD) has been shown in several rheumatic diseases. Persistent inflammation might also be a risk factor for IHD in sarcoidosis patients. (2) Methods: Demographic and clinical data of 3750 sarcoidosis patients and 18,139 age- and sex-matched controls were retrieved from the database of Clalit Health Services, Israel’s largest healthcare organization. Variables associated with IHD were assessed by a logistic regression model. To assess for variables that were related to increased risk of all-cause mortality, the Cox proportional hazards method was used, and a log-rank test was performed for survival analysis. (3) Results: Both groups were composed of 64% females with a median age of 56 years. An association between sarcoidosis and IHD was demonstrated by a multivariate analysis (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.5; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.36–1.66). Long-term follow-up revealed increased mortality among sarcoidosis patients: 561 (15%) deaths compared to 1636 (9%) deaths among controls (p < 0.001). Survival analysis demonstrated that sarcoidosis patients were also at increased risk for all-cause mortality compared to controls (multivariate model, adjusted HR 1.93; 95% CI 1.76–2.13).

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Air Pollution Is Associated with Cognitive Deterioration of Alzheimer’s Disease

Gerontology ◽

10.1159/000515162 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Feng Cheng Lin ◽

Chih Yin Chen ◽

Chung Wei Lin ◽

Ming Tsang Wu ◽

Hsuan Yu Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Air Pollution ◽

Social Engagement ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Rank Test ◽

Cognitive Deterioration ◽

Clinical Dementia Rating ◽

Severe Stage ◽

Increased Risk

Introduction: Dementia is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide. Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia among the elderly, has great impact on the health-care system of developed nations. Several risk factors are suggestive of an increased risk of AD, including APOE-ε4, male, age, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and low social engagement. However, data on risk factors of AD progression are limited. Air pollution is revealed to be associated with increasing dementia incidence, but the relationship between air pollution and clinical AD cognitive deterioration is unclear. Methods: We conducted a case-control and city-to-city study to compare the progression of AD patients in different level of air-polluted cities. Clinical data of a total of 704 AD patients were retrospectively collected, 584 residences in Kaohsiung and 120 residences in Pingtung between 2002 and 2018. An annual interview was performed with each patient, and the Clinical Dementia Rating score (0 [normal] to 3 [severe stage]) was used to evaluate their cognitive deterioration. Air pollution data of Kaohsiung and Pingtung city for 2002–2018 were retrieved from Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration. Annual Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) and concentrations of particulate matter (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and carbon monoxide (CO) were obtained. Results: The PSI was higher in Kaohsiung and compared with Pingtung patients, Kaohsiung patients were exposed to higher average annual concentrations of CO, NO2, PM10, and SO2. AD patients living in Kaohsiung suffered from faster cognitive deterioration in comparison with Pingtung patients (log-rank test: p = 0.016). When using multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, higher levels of CO, NO2, PM10, and SO2 exposure were associated with increased risk of AD cognitive deterioration. Among all these air pollutants, high SO2 exposure has the greatest impact while O3 has a neutral effect on AD cognitive deterioration. Conclusions: Air pollution is an environment-related risk factor that can be controlled and is associated with cognitive deterioration of AD. This finding could contribute to the implementation of public intervention strategies of AD.

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Elevated Serum Trimethylamine N-Oxide Levels Are Associated with Mortality in Male Patients on Peritoneal Dialysis

Blood Purification ◽

10.1159/000512962 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Dongying Fu ◽

Jiani Shen ◽

Wei Li ◽

Yating Wang ◽

Zhong Zhong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Peritoneal Dialysis ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Elevated Serum ◽

Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Serum Samples ◽

Entire Cohort ◽

Increased Risk ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Male Patients

Background: Elevated levels of serum trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) have been previously linked to adverse cardiovascular (CV) and all-cause mortality in hemodialysis patients. However, the clinical significance of serum TMAO levels in patients treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD) is unclear. Methods: A total of 1,032 PD patients with stored serum samples at baseline were enrolled in this prospective study. Serum concentrations of TMAO were quantified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Cox proportional hazards and competing-risk regression models were performed to examine the association of TMAO levels with all-cause and CV mortality. Results: The median level of serum TMAO in our study population was 34.5 (interquartile range (IQR), 19.8–61.0) μM. During a median follow-up of 63.7 months (IQR, 43.9–87.2), 245 (24%) patients died, with 129 (53%) deaths resulting from CV disease. In the entire cohort, we observed an association between elevated serum TMAO levels and all-cause mortality (adjusted subdistributional hazard ratio [SHR], 1.22; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.01–1.48; p = 0.039) but not CV mortality. Further analysis revealed such association differed by sex; the elevation of serum TMAO levels was independently associated with increased risk of both all-cause (SHR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.07–1.76; p = 0.013) and CV mortality (SHR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.02–1.94; p = 0.038) in men but not in women. Conclusions: Higher serum TMAO levels were independently associated with all-cause and CV mortality in male patients treated with PD.

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Blood eosinophils on hospital admission for COPD exacerbation do not predict the recurrence of moderate and severe relapses

ERJ Open Research ◽

10.1183/23120541.00543-2020 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 00543-2020

Author(s):

Balázs Csoma ◽

András Bikov ◽

Ferenc Tóth ◽

György Losonczy ◽

Veronika Müller ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Proportional Hazards ◽

Proportional Hazards Model ◽

Forced Expiratory Volume ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards Model ◽

Full Blood Count ◽

Rank Test ◽

Severe Exacerbation ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Exacerbation Of Copd

Background and objectiveThe relationship between hospitalisation with an eosinophilic acute exacerbation of COPD (AE-COPD) and future relapses is unclear. We aimed to explore this association by following 152 patients for 12 months after hospital discharge or until their first moderate or severe flare-up.MethodsPatients hospitalised with AE-COPD were divided into eosinophilic and non-eosinophilic groups based on full blood count results on admission. All patients were treated with a course of systemic corticosteroid. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to study the association with the time to first re-exacerbation; a generalised linear regression model was applied to identify clinical variables related to the recurrence of relapses.ResultsWe did not find a difference in the time to the next moderate or severe exacerbation between the eosinophilic (≥2% of total leukocytes and/or ≥200 eosinophils·µL−1, n=51, median (interquartile range): 21 (10–36) weeks) and non-eosinophilic groups (n=101, 17 (9–36) weeks, log-rank test: p=0.63). No association was found when other cut-off values (≥3% of total leukocytes and/or ≥300 eosinophils·µL−1) were used for the eosinophilic phenotype. However, the higher number of past severe exacerbations, a lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) at discharge and higher pack-years were related to shorter exacerbation-free time. According to a subgroup analysis (n=73), 48.1% of patients with initial eosinophilic exacerbations had non-eosinophilic relapses on readmission.ConclusionsOur data do not support an increased risk of earlier recurring moderate or severe relapses in patients hospitalised with eosinophilic exacerbations of COPD. Eosinophilic severe exacerbations present a variable phenotype.

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Association of pulse pressure with all-cause mortality in young adults

Postgraduate Medical Journal ◽

10.1136/postgradmedj-2019-137070 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 96 (1138) ◽

pp. 461-466

Author(s):

Jie LI ◽

Jia-Yi Huang ◽

Kenneth Lo ◽

Bin Zhang ◽

Yu-Qing Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Pulse Pressure ◽

Subgroup Analysis ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Continuous Variable ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards Models ◽

Increased Risk ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Cox Analysis

BackgroundPulse blood pressure was significantly associated with all-cause mortality in middle-aged and elderly populations, but less evidence was known in young adults.ObjectiveTo assess the association of pulse pressure (PP) with all-cause mortality in young adults.MethodsThis cohort from the 1999–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey included adults aged 18–40 years. All included participants were followed up until the date of death or 31 December 2015. PP was categorised into three groups: <50, 50~60, ≥60 mm Hg. Cox proportional hazards models and subgroup analysis were performed to estimate the adjusted HRs and 95% CIs for all-cause mortality.ResultsAfter applying the exclusion criteria, 8356 participants (median age 26.63±7.01 years, 4598 women (55.03%)) were included, of which 265 (3.17%) have died during a median follow-up duration of 152.96±30.45 months. When treating PP as a continuous variable, multivariate Cox analysis showed that PP was an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality (HR 1.94, 95% CI 1.02 to 3.69; p=0.0422). When using PP<50 mm Hg as referent, from the 50~60 mm Hg to the ≥60 mm Hg group, the risks of all-cause mortality for participants with PP ranging 50–60 mm Hg or ≥60 mm Hg were 0.93 (95% CI 0.42 to 2.04) and 1.15 (95% CI 0.32 to 4.07) (P for tend was 0.959). Subgroup analysis showed that PP (HR 2.00, 95% CI 1.05 to 3.82; p=0.0360) was associated with all-cause mortality among non-hypertensive participants.ConclusionAmong young adults, higher PP was significantly associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, particularly among those without hypertension.

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Increased Plasma Concentrations of Soluble ST2 are Predictive for 1-Year Mortality in Patients with Acute Destabilized Heart Failure

Clinical Chemistry ◽

10.1373/clinchem.2007.096560 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 54 (4) ◽

pp. 752-756 ◽

Cited By ~ 114

Author(s):

Thomas Mueller ◽

Benjamin Dieplinger ◽

Alfons Gegenhuber ◽

Werner Poelz ◽

Richard Pacher ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Plasma Concentration ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Interleukin 1 ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Plasma Concentrations ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Care Hospital ◽

Increased Risk ◽

All Cause Mortality

Abstract Background: The soluble isoform of the interleukin-1 receptor family member ST2 (sST2) has been implicated in heart failure. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the capability of sST2 as a prognostic marker in patients with acute destabilized heart failure. Methods: sST2 plasma concentrations were obtained in 137 patients with acute destabilized heart failure attending the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital. The endpoint was defined as all-cause mortality, and the study participants were followed up for 365 days. Results: Of the 137 patients enrolled, 41 died and 96 survived during follow-up. At baseline the median sST2 plasma concentration was significantly higher in the patients who died than in those who survived (870 vs 342 ng/L, P <0.001). Kaplan-Meier curve analyses demonstrated that the risk ratios for mortality were 2.45 (95% CI, 0.88–6.31; P = 0.086) and 6.63 (95% CI, 2.55–10.89; P <0.001) in the second tercile (sST2, 300–700 ng/L; 11 deaths vs 34 survivors) and third tercile (sST2, >700 ng/L; 25 deaths vs 21 survivors) of sST2 plasma concentrations compared with the first tercile (sST2, ≤300 ng/L; 5 deaths vs 41 survivors). In multivariable Cox proportional-hazards regression analyses, an sST2 plasma concentration in the upper tercile was a strong and independent predictor of all-cause mortality. Conclusions: Increased sST2 concentrations determined in plasma samples drawn from patients with acute destabilized heart failure at their initial presentation indicate increased risk of future mortality. Increased sST2 plasma concentrations are independently and strongly associated with one-year all-cause mortality in these patients.

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Associations Between Anemia, Cognitive Impairment, and All-Cause Mortality in Oldest-Old Adults: A Prospective Population-Based Cohort Study

Frontiers in Medicine ◽

10.3389/fmed.2021.613426 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Jia Wangping ◽

Han Ke ◽

Wang Shengshu ◽

Song Yang ◽

Yang Shanshan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mortality Risk ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Oldest Old ◽

Population Based ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Risk Of Mortality ◽

Increased Risk ◽

All Cause Mortality

Objective: To evaluate the combined effects of anemia and cognitive function on the risk of all-cause mortality in oldest-old individuals.Design: Prospective population-based cohort study.Setting and Participants: We included 1,212 oldest-old individuals (men, 416; mean age, 93.3 years).Methods: Blood tests, physical examinations, and health questionnaire surveys were conducted in 2012 were used for baseline data. Mortality was assessed in the subsequent 2014 and 2018 survey waves. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate anemia, cognitive impairment, and mortality risk. We used restricted cubic splines to analyze and visualize the association between hemoglobin (Hb) levels and mortality risk.Results: A total of 801 (66.1%) deaths were identified during the 6-year follow-up. We noted a significant association between anemia and mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.32, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14–1.54) after adjusting for confounding variables. We also observed a dose-response relationship between the severity of anemia and mortality (P < 0.001). In the restricted cubic spline models, Hb levels had a reverse J-shaped association with mortality risk (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.84–0.93 per 10 g/L-increase in Hb levels below 130 g/L). The reverse J-shaped association persisted in individuals without cognitive impairment (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.79–0.98 per 10 g/L-increase in Hb levels below 110 g/L). For people with cognitive impairment, Hb levels were inversely associated with mortality risk (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.78–0.89 per 10 g/L-increase in Hb levels below 150 g/L). People with anemia and cognitive impairment had the highest risk of mortality (HR 2.60, 95% CI 2.06–3.27).Conclusion: Our results indicate that anemia is associated with an increased risk of mortality in oldest-old people. Cognitive impairment modifies the association between Hb levels and mortality.

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Association between suicide, external-cause and all-cause mortality and irregular mental health discharge among the US veteran population

BJPsych Open ◽

10.1192/bjo.2021.1000 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (5) ◽

Author(s):

Natalie B. Riblet ◽

Daniel J. Gottlieb ◽

Bradley V. Watts ◽

Maxwell Levis ◽

Brian Shiner

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Suicide Risk ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Post Discharge ◽

Residential Settings ◽

Increased Risk ◽

The Us ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

The Relationship

Background Irregular hospital discharge is highly prevalent among people admitted to hospital for mental health reasons. No study has examined the relationship between irregular discharge, post-discharge mortality and treatment setting (i.e. mortality after patients are discharged from acute in-patient or residential mental health settings). Aims To understand the relationship between irregular discharge and mortality among patients discharged from acute in-patient and residential settings. Method A retrospective study was conducted in members of the US veteran population discharged from acute in-patient or residential settings of the US Department of Veterans Affairs between 2003 and 2018. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards were used to evaluate associations between irregular discharge and suicide, external-cause (as defined by ICD-10 Codes: V01-Y98) and all-cause mortality in the first 30-, 90- and 180-days post-discharge. Results There were over 1.5 million mental health discharges between 2003 and 2018. Patients with an irregular discharge were at increased risk for suicide, external-cause and all-cause mortality in the first 180 days after discharge. In the first 30 days after discharge, patients with irregular discharge had more than three times greater suicide risk than patients with regular discharge (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 3.41, 95% CI 2.21–5.25). Suicide risk was higher among patients with irregular discharge in the first 30 days after acute in-patient discharge (adjusted HR = 1.55, 95% CI 1.11–2.16). In both settings, the mortality risk associated with irregular discharge attenuated but remained elevated within 90 and 180 days. Conclusions Irregular discharge after an acute in-patient or residential stay poses a large risk for mortality soon after discharge. Clinicians must identify effective interventions to mitigate harms associated with irregular discharge in these settings.

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U-shaped Association Between Apolipoprotein B and All-Cause Mortality: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1039792/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

mengqi yan ◽

Xiaocong Liu ◽

Yuqing Huang ◽

Yuling Yu ◽

Dan Zhou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

National Health ◽

Cardiovascular Mortality ◽

Proportional Hazards ◽

Piecewise Linear ◽

Cardiovascular Death ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Health And Nutrition ◽

Increased Risk ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Non Linear

Abstract BackgroundApolipoprotein B (apoB), a significant component directly reflecting the number of atherogenic lipoprotein particles, gradually becomes a more conducive indicator to control blood lipids. However, epidemiological evidence on its relationship with mortality is limited, especially with all-cause mortality. MethodsParticipants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey during 2007-2014 were grouped according to the apoB quartiles (15-76, 77-92, 93-110, 111-345mg/dL). We performed Cox proportional hazards models and Kaplan-Meier survival curves to evaluate the relationships of apoB with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Restricted cubic spline and piecewise linear regression were performed to detect their non-linear relationships. ResultsIn general, we enrolled 10375 participants among United States adults (mean age 46.3 ± 16.9, 47.88% men). On average, participants were followed up for 69.2 months, among whom 533 (5.14%) and 91 (0.88%) deaths were observed due to all -causes and cardiovascular diseases, respectively. After adjusting for confounders, apoB was independently associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular death (hazard ratio [HR], 1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.24). However, in the third quartile of apoB, the risk of all-cause death decreased significantly (HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.56-0.91). Moreover, the non-linear relationship between apoB and all-cause death demonstrated an increased risk at both low and high level apoB concentrations, divided by the threshold point of 108 mg/dl. ConclusionElevated apoB was significantly associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular mortality, while its association with all-cause mortality was non-linear correlated, with an increased risk at both low and high apoB levels.

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FC 080VARIABILITY IN SERUM PHOSPHATE ASSESSED BY DIRECTIONAL CHANGE IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED MORTALITY

Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation ◽

10.1093/ndt/gfab123.005 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoling (Janice) Ye ◽

Karlien Ter Meulen ◽

Len A Usvyat ◽

Frank Van Der Sande ◽

Constantijn Konings ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Proportional Hazards ◽

Smoothing Splines ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards ◽

Serum Phosphate ◽

P Value ◽

Cox Proportional Hazards Models ◽

Increased Risk ◽

All Cause Mortality ◽

Directional Change ◽

Wide Variability

Abstract Background and Aims Prior studies showed that there is a wide variability between serial pre-dialysis measurements of serum phosphate (P). Serum P vary can be due to changes in nutritional intake, underlying bone disorders, medication use or inflammation. Various variability markers have been investigated to study the association between P variability and its association with outcomes, however, the directional trends have not been studied in depth. We aimed to study directional changes and investigated its association with outcomes. Method All adult incident HD patients treated in Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA) clinics between 01/2010 and 10/2018 were included in this retrospective cohort study. Serum P levels were averaged from month 1 to 6 after the initiation of dialysis (baseline). Baseline absolute and directional range (DR) of serum P were calculated. DR of P was calculated as: P min/max (t2) – P max/min (t1), with P (t1) and P (t2) represents the timepoint when either the min P value or max P value was measured, whichever comes first, and with t2 happened after t1. It is positive when the minimum antedates the maximum, otherwise negative. All-cause mortality was recorded between months 7 and 18. Cox proportional hazards models with spline terms were applied to explore the association between absolute and DR of P and all-cause mortality. Additionally, tensor product smoothing splines were computed to study the interactions of P with absolute P and DR of P and their joint associations with outcomes, respectably. Results We studied 353,142 patients. The average age was 62.7 years, 58% were male, 64% were diabetic. Baseline P was 4.98 mg/dL, median absolute range was 2.40 mg/dL, median DR was 1.1 mg/dL. Across different levels of P, both higher levels of absolute range and DR of P were associated with higher risk of mortality (Figure 1, Figure 2). The associations even seemed stronger in patients with lower levels of serum P and with negative DR (Figure 1). Conclusion Lower levels of serum P are independently associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality. Whereas both a positive and negative DR of P are in general associated with increased mortality, the effects of an increase are most predominant in patients with higher levels of serum P, whereas a negative directional range are most predominant in patients with low serum P. This could be explained by the fact that patients with lower levels of P are generally malnourished or inflamed, where a further reduction indicates nutritional deterioration.

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