To the Editor: The review by Spence et al concludes that those at risk of vascular disease (which Canadian is not?) should avoid cholesterol, particularly eggs. Before abandoning eggs, let us first consider total cholesterol and all-cause mortality. In most population studies, those with low(est) cholesterol die first. Typical is the Austrian Vorarlberg study with top mortality in the bottom qu...

A growing body of evidence indicates that survivors of intensive care have an impaired quality of life. It is not entirely clear from the available literature whether this impairment is a complication of critical illness or a complication of therapy. There is little evidence to guide physicians to treatments in the intensive care unit that will minimize the effects of critical illness on these ...

BACKGROUND The difference between total serum protein and albumin, i.e. the gamma gap, is a frequently used clinical screening measure for both latent infection and malignancy. However, there are no studies defining a positive gamma gap. Further, whether it is an independent risk factor of mortality is unknown. METHODS AND FINDINGS This study examined the association between gamma gap, all-ca...

OBJECTIVE To assess the relationship between infrarenal aortic diameter and subsequent all-cause mortality in men aged 65 years or older. METHODS AND RESULTS Aortic diameter was measured using ultrasound in 12 203 men aged 65 to 83 years as part of a trial of screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms. A range of cardiovascular risk factors was also documented. Mortality over the next 3 to 7 ye...

Objective .- Determine if the addition of hemoglobin testing improves risk prediction for life insurance applicants. Method .- Hemoglobin results for insurance applicants tested from 1993 to 2007, with vital status determined by Social Security Death Master File follow-up in 2011, were analyzed by age and sex with and without accounting for the contribution of other test results. Results .- Hem...

OBJECTIVE To examine the potential dose-response relationship between four positive health characteristics (i.e., normal body mass index, physically active, healthy diet and non-smoker) and all-cause mortality. METHODS Data from the 2003-2006 NHANES were used (20 + years; N = 5844), with follow-up through 2011. Participants wore an ActiGraph 7164 accelerometer over a period of up to 7 days to...

To the Editor: Dr Flegal and colleagues concluded that grade 1 obesity was not associated with higher all-cause mortality and that overweight was associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality. Other studies have shown that obesity in different populations, such as elderly people and patients with cardiovascular diseases, is also paradoxically not associated with a higher but rather wi...