Association of Admission Blood Glucose Level with All-Cause Mortality According to Age in Patients with Community Acquired Pneumonia

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of blood glucose levels on the prognosis of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) who were elderly or middle-aged. METHODS: From January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2020, patients with CAP (≥45 years) were retrospectively enrolled in this observational study. They were stratified by age (45–64 or ≥65 years) and blood glucose level (≥11.1 or <11.1 mmol/l). The effect of admission blood glucose on 28-day mortality was assessed with the Cox proportional hazards model, adjusted for demographic factors and comorbidity. RESULTS: Among 1656 patients with CAP, increased blood glucose (HR=2.08, 95% CI: 1.38–3.49; P<0.01) and advanced age (HR=2.76, 95% CI: 1.65–3.77; P<0.01) were significantly associated with a higher risk of 28-day mortality, after controlling for potential confounding factors. The strength of the association of blood glucose level with 28-day mortality decreased with age (P=0.01 for the interaction) as the adjusted HRs for death were 4.48 (95% CI: 1.40–13.65; P<0.01) for middle-age patients 45–64 years and 1.52 (95% CI: 1.09–2.17; P=0.05) for elderly patients ≥65 years. CONCLUSION: The association of blood glucose level upon admission for CAP with all-cause mortality was stronger at younger ages.