Key result
Higher hsTnT linked to ~66% greater all-cause mortality risk per SD in older adults.
Why the study?
It remained unclear whether high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T independently predicts mortality in older adults.
Does elevated high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hsTnT) predict all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in older adults aged 70 to 95 years?
Cohort (n=2,055)
No
Does elevated high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hsTnT) predict all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in older adults aged 70 to 95 years?
Hazard Ratio: 1.66 (95% CI 1.49–1.85)
p-value: p=<0.001
Elevated high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T is an independent predictor of all-cause, cardiovascular, and non-cardiovascular mortality in older adults, particularly those with prevalent cardiovascular disease.
hsTnT may aid mortality prediction in adults ≥70; leaves open whether it improves risk stratification or alters management.
Background It remains unclear whether high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hsTnT) independently predicts mortality in older adults. Objective To estimate mortality rate and association of hsTnT with all-cause and cardiovascular death in the older, mobile population. Methods This analysis was conducted in 2055 subjects of the AugUR-study, a prospective population-based cohort study in individuals aged 70 years and older with up to 10-year mortality follow-up. We used Cox proportional hazard models to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for association of hsTnT with all-cause, cardiovascular, non-cardiovascular and premature mortality risk. Association results of hsTnT with mortality were reported for tertiles and per 1 standard deviation (SD) of log-transformed values. Results Participants were 70 to 95 years old with 48% men and 56% with prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD). In a median follow-up period of 6.0 years, 385 (113 cardiovascular) deaths were recorded. For all-cause mortality, HR was 1.66 [95%CI=1.49–1.85] after adjustment for age and sex (p-value<0.001). For cardiovascular mortality, the effect was more pronounced (HR=2.17 [95%CI=1.79–2.63]; p < 0.001). The association between hsTnT with non-cardiovascular mortality was also significant (HR=1.61 [95%CI=1.41–1.83]; p < 0.001). In a full model adjusting for factors influencing mortality and hsTnT levels, in participants with prevalent CVD, hsTnT showed still association with cardiovascular mortality (HR=1.65 [95%CI=1.30–2.10]; p < 0.001) but also with non-cardiovascular mortality (HR=1.32 [95%CI=1.10–1.58]; p < 0.01). Conclusion Elevated levels of hsTnT were associated with increased cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality risk in an old-aged population. Measurement of hsTnT in subjects with prevalent CVD may help identify individuals at high risk for mortality.
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Stark et al. (2026) conducted a cohort in Older adults (n=2,055). High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hsTnT) vs. Lower hsTnT levels was evaluated on All-cause mortality (per 1 SD increase of log-transformed hsTnT, age and sex adjusted) (HR 1.66, 95% CI 1.49-1.85, p=<0.001). Elevated levels of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T were significantly associated with increased all-cause mortality (HR 1.66) and cardiovascular mortality (HR 2.17) per 1 standard deviation increase in older adults.
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