Inflammation scores based on C-reactive protein and albumin predict mortality in hospitalized older patients independent of the admission diagnosis

Systemic inflammation significantly increases the risk of short- and long-term mortality in geriatric hospitalized patients. To predict mortality in older patients with various age-related diseases and infections, including COVID-19, inflammatory biomarkers such as the C-reactive protein (CRP) to albumin ratio (CAR), and related scores and indexes, i.e. Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), modified GPS (mGPS), and high sensitivity (hs)-mGPS, have been increasingly utilized. Despite their easy affordability and widespread availability, these biomarkers are predominantly assessed for clinical purposes rather than predictive applications, leading to their underutilization in hospitalized older patients. In this study, we investigated the association of CAR, GPS, mGPS, and hs-mGPS with short-term mortality in 3,206 geriatric hospitalized patients admitted for acute conditions, irrespective of admission diagnosis. We observed that unit increases of CAR, and the highest classes of GPS, mGPS, and hs-mGPS were significantly associated with a two- to threefold increased risk of death, even adjusting the risk for different confounding variables. Interestingly, a hs-mGPS of 2 showed the highest effect size. Furthermore, gender analysis indicated a stronger association between all CRP-albumin based parameters and mortality in men, underscoring the gender-specific relevance of inflammation-based circulating parameters in mortality prediction. In conclusion, scores based on serum CRP and albumin levels offer additional guidance for the stratification of in-hospital mortality risk in older patients by providing additional information on the degree of systemic inflammation.