Incidental lymphopenia and mortality: a prospective cohort study
Abstract
BACKGROUND: It is unknown if incidental lymphopenia detected in the general population is associated with higher all-cause and cause-specific mortality. We aimed to identify the associations between lymphopenia and all-cause and cause specific mortality. METHODS: In a prospective cohort study, we examined and followed participants enrolled in the Copenhagen General Population Study between November 2003 and April 2015. In our analysis, we modelled risks using Cox proportional hazards regression for 3 groups: participants with a lymphocyte count below the 2.5th percentile; those with a lymphocyte count at or between the 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (reference category); and those with a lymphocyte count above the 97.5th percentile. RESULTS: The cohort included 108 135 participants with a median age of 68 years. During a median follow-up of 9 (interquartile range [IQR] 0–14) years, 10 372 participants died. We found that participants with lymphopenia (lymphocyte count < 1.1 × 109/L) compared with those with a lymphocyte count in the reference range (1.1–3.7 × 109/L) had higher mortality with multivariable adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of 1.63 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.51–1.76) for all causes, 1.67 (95% CI 1.42–1.97) for nonhematologic cancers, 2.79 (95% CI 1.82–4.28) for hematologic cancers, 1.88 (95% CI 1.61–2.20) for cardiovascular diseases, 1.88 (95% CI 1.55–2.29) for respiratory diseases, 1.86 (95% CI 1.53–2.25) for infectious diseases, and 1.50 (95% CI 1.19–1.88) for…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cohort study, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 108 participants or records.
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