title: High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin I Is a Strong Predictor of Cardiovascular Events and Mortality in the AGES-Reykjavik Community-Based Cohort of Older Individuals.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of this study was to investigate the predictive power of a high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) assay for cardiovascular events and mortality in a large population of older community dwellers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Blood was collected from 5764 individuals (age 66-98 years) during the period of 2002-2006 and the outcome as to all-cause death and incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and coronary heart disease (CHD) followed up to 10 years. hs-cTnI (Abbott) was measured in serum to assess the association of this marker with CVD, CHD and death, and finally, to compare the results with conventional risk factors by multivariable statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median (interquartile range) concentrations of hs-cTnI were 8.4 ng/L (5.6-14.2 ng/L) and 5.3 ng/L (3.8-8.1 ng/L) in men (2416) and women (3275), respectively, and the concentrations increased linearly with age. Outcomes as to all-cause death and incidence of CVD and CHD were significantly associated with increasing concentrations of hs-cTnI beginning well below the 99th percentile concentrations. The associations with outcome remained after adjustments for conventional risk factors and were similar in men and women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that hs-cTnI reflects the status of the myocardium even in seemingly healthy individuals and that the measurements of hs-cTnI may be useful for primary prediction of heart disease; this should form the basis for future prospective clinical trials for determining whether measuring hs-cTnI can be used in the prevention of CVD/CHD.
authors.affiliation: Icelandic Heart Association Research Institute, Kopavogur, Iceland; Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland;
authors.forename: Ingunn
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Thorsteinsdottir
authors.affiliation: Icelandic Heart Association Research Institute, Kopavogur, Iceland; Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland;
authors.forename: Thor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aspelund
authors.affiliation: Icelandic Heart Association Research Institute, Kopavogur, Iceland;
authors.forename: Elias
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gudmundsson
authors.affiliation: Icelandic Heart Association Research Institute, Kopavogur, Iceland;
authors.forename: Gudny
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Eiriksdottir
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology, Demography and Biometry, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging Bethesda, MD;
authors.forename: Tamara B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Epidemiology, Demography and Biometry, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging Bethesda, MD;
authors.forename: Lenore J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Launer
authors.affiliation: Icelandic Heart Association Research Institute, Kopavogur, Iceland; Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland;
authors.forename: Vilmundur
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gudnason
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. per.venge@medsci.uu.se.
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Venge
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality*; D002423:Cause of Death; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland / Q000453:epidemiology; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D019210:Troponin I / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019210:Troponin I