The value of serum albumin and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in defining mortality risk in older persons with low serum cholesterol

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship between low cholesterol and mortality in older persons to identify, using information collected at a single point in time, subgroups of persons with low and high mortality risk. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study with a median follow-up period of 4.9 years. SETTINGS: East Boston, Massachusetts; New Haven, Connecticut; and Iowa and Washington counties, Iowa. PARTICIPANTS: Four thousand one hundred twenty-eight participants (64% women) age 70 and older at baseline (mean 78.7 years, range 70-103); 393 (9.5%) had low cholesterol, defined as 38 g/L had a significant risk reduction compared with those with albumin or =47 mg/dl had a 62% risk reduction (RR = 0.38; 95% CI = 0.20-0.68), compared with the reference category; those with albumin < or =38 g/L and HDL-C