Circulating interleukin-6 levels and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in the elderly population: A meta-analysis

• Published in: Archives of gerontology and geriatrics 2017-11, Vol.73, p.257-262
• Main Authors: Li, Honghong, Liu, Wenjuan, Xie, Jiemei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; All-cause mortality; Biomarkers - blood; Cardiovascular Diseases - blood; Cardiovascular Diseases - mortality; Cardiovascular mortality; Cause of Death; Elderly; Humans; Interleukin-6; Interleukin-6 - blood; Interleukin-6 - metabolism; Male; Meta-analysis; Middle Aged; Odds Ratio; Prospective Studies
• ISSN: 0167-4943; 1872-6976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2017.08.007

•Association of circulating interleukin-6 levels with mortality risk in older adults is conflicting.•Individuals with highest interleukin-6 levels had a 69% greater cardiovascular mortality risk.•Individuals with highest circulating interleukin-6 levels had 49% greater all-cause mortality risk. : Inflammatory markers may be associated with mortality in the elderly population. We conducted this meta-analysis to evaluate the association of elevated circulating interleukin-6 levels with cardiovascular or all-cause mortality in the general elderly population. A comprehensive literature search was conducted through the Pubmed and Embase databases until April 2016. Prospective observational studies that investigated the association of circulating interleukin-6 levels with cardiovascular or all-cause mortality in the elderly general population (aged 60 years or more) were included. Pooled risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by the highest vs. the lowest interleukin-6 levels. Nine prospective studies involving 9087 participants were identified. When comparing the highest with the lowest interleukin-6 levels, the pooled RR of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality were 1.49 (95% CI 1.33–1.67) and 1.69 (95% CI 1.27–2.25), respectively. Subgroup analysis indicated the effects of interleukin-6 on all-cause mortality were consistently observed in sample sizes, region, durations of follow-up, interleukin-6 cutoff value and number of adjusted for covariates subgroups. This meta-analysis indicates that elevated circulating interleukin-6 levels are independently associated with greater risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in the general elderly population.