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G ilbert's syndrome and the risk of death: A population‐based cohort study
Author(s) -
Horsfall Laura J.,
Nazareth Irwin,
Pereira Stephen P.,
Petersen Irene
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1111/jgh.12279
Subject(s) - medicine , poisson regression , cohort , confidence interval , population , mortality rate , cohort study , standardized mortality ratio , rate ratio , demography , pediatrics , environmental health , sociology
Background and Aims G ilbert's syndrome is a common familial hyperbilirubinemia that may reduce the risk of various age‐related diseases because of the antioxidant properties of bilirubin. We conducted a large cohort study using T he H ealth I mprovement N etwork primary care database and compared all‐cause mortality rates in those with and without G ilbert's syndrome. Methods Mortality rates in patients with a diagnosis of G ilbert's syndrome and raised bilirubin level ( n = 4266) were compared with those of patients with similar characteristics but with normal bilirubin levels ( n = 21 968). Multivariate Poisson regression was also used to estimate adjusted mortality rate ratios. Results During the 350 000 PY s of follow up across the G ilbert's and comparison cohorts, there were 1174 deaths. Mortality rates were 24/10 000 PY s in the G ilbert's cohort versus 50/10 000 PY s in the comparison cohort. Mortality rates were around half in patients with G ilbert's syndrome after accounting for sociodemographics and general health indicators (adjusted mortality rate ratio: 0.5 [95% confidence interval; 0.4–0.7; P < 0.001]). Conclusions Mortality rates observed for people with G ilbert's syndrome in the general population are almost half those of people without evidence of G ilbert's syndrome.