A risk score based on age and the components of a complete blood count (CBC) is strongly associated with all-cause mortality risk and cardiovascular-specific outcomes in an apparently healthy population, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions (Dallas; Nov. 16-20). The researchers say the commonly used blood test could be inexpensively incorporated into laboratory results, electronic medical records, and physician workflow to better identify previously unidentified high-risk individuals who would benefit from costly workups or preventive therapies. The value of the CBC risk score was previously validated in general medical, hospitalized patients, but now researchers have shown the score to be generalizable to a larger, healthier population. They prospectively validated the score for use in individuals initially free of cardiovascular disease participating in a clinical trial, “Justification for the Use of Statins in Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin (JUPITER)” (females, n=6,568 and males, n=10,629). The researchers found that even after adjusting for age, all-cause mortality was significantly higher in middle-risk and high-risk participants, compared to the lowest-risk participants. Risk of death was 50 percent higher in those with middle risk and nearly twice as high in the highest-risk participants, compared to the lowest-risk. For […]