Association Between the Cardiometabolic Index With Mortality Risk in Adult Hypertensive Patients
Geeta Dey
21/07/2026
Hypertension alone contributes to 10 million deaths annually, highlighting the need for improved risk assessment tools. Currently, the cardiometabolic index (CMI) provides prognostic value in early clinical screening for disease risk in conditions for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. However, only a few studies assess the relationship between CMI on mortality risk in hypertensive patients, individuals with systolic/diastolic blood pressure exceeding 140/90 mm Hg, compared to existing biomarkers: glycated-hemoglobin (HbA1c) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Thus, this study aims to elucidate the correlation between CMI and mortality risk in hypertensive patients.
578 patients were randomly selected from the 1999-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cycle for this study. CMI was calculated by multiplying the triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL). Then, patients were stratified into three groups based on CMI. Furthermore, mortality endpoints include all-cause, cardiovascular, and hypertension-related risk. Multiple statistical analyses were performed to determine associations between CMI and each mortality endpoint. P-values less than 0.05 were considered significant.
Results suggested insignificant associations between CMI and all-cause, hypertension-related, and cardiovascular mortality. Compared to the association between HbA1c and CMI, CRP was significantly associated with all evaluated endpoints [all-cause (p<0.001), cardiovascular (p<0.001), and hypertension-related mortality (p<0.001)].
Hence, CRP can potentially be used as a diagnostic intervention to assess mortality risk in hypertensive patients, representing higher inflammation in patients. Future research can further investigate the diagnostic potential of CMI through evaluating cerebrovascular- or cancer-related mortality risks in clinical contexts.