Association Between Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels and Risk for Sepsis Among Patients Admitted to the Hospital With Infection

Key Points Question What is the association between low levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and risk of sepsis in patients admitted to the hospital with serious infection? Findings In this cohort study of deidentified electronic medical records of patients admitted to the hospital with infection, measured levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in 3961 patients and a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol genetic risk score in 7804 patients were not associated with increased risk of sepsis after adjusting for comorbidities. Meaning Levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol are not directly associated with the risk of sepsis or poor outcomes in patients hospitalized with infection.
This cohort study of medical records assesses whether low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels are associated with an increased risk of sepsis among patients admitted to the hospital with infection.
Importance Whether low levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) are associated with increased risk of sepsis and poorer outcomes is unknown. Objective To examine the association between LDL-C levels and risk of sepsis among patients admitted to the hospital with infection. Design, Setting, and Participants Cohort study in which deidentified electronic health records were used to define a cohort of patients admitted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, with infection. Patients were white adults, had a code indicating infection from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, and received an antibiotic within 1 day of hospital admission (N = 61 502). Data were collected from January 1, 1993, through December 31, 2017, and analyzed from January 24 through October 31, 2018. Interventions Clinically measured LDL-C levels (excluding measurements .05 for all). The LDL-C GRS correlated with measured LDL-C levels (r = 0.24; P