Russian Journal of Geriatric Medicine · Sep 6, 2026

Elevated Levels for Interleukin-6 as a Marker of Death Risk in Elderly and Senile Patients with CHF and Anemia: A Prospective Cohort Study

By Соломахина НИ, Dementeva A, Sokolov АА

OBJECTIVE : to study the effect of elevated levels of IL-6 on the risk of death in elderly and senile patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and anemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS . After discharge from the hospital, 145 patients aged 65 to 90 years with CHF of functional class II–IV (NYHA) against the background of coronary heart disease (CHD) were observed for up to 24 months: 105 patients with CHF and anemia and 40 patients with CHF without anemia. The control group (CG) consisted of 30 patients with CHD without CHF and anemia. The primary endpoint is death from cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular causes. Upon admission, the levels of IL-6 and N-terminal brain-promoting natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were examined once in patients. Kaplan – Meyer survival curves were used to estimate the mortality rate, and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to assess the effect of IL-6 on the risk of death. RESULTS . In the CHF group with anemia, the average IL-6 level was (9.54 ± 0.67) pg/ml, which is significantly higher than in the CHF group without anemia (6.93 ± 0.97) pg/ml (p = 0.004) and in KG (0.95 ± 0.07) pg/ml (p = 0.000). The Kaplan – Meyer survival analysis revealed a higher mortality rate of patients in the CHF group with anemia than in the CHF group without anemia (p = 0.00186), as well as in the CHF group with anemia — a higher mortality rate of patients in the 4th quartile range (QR) of IL-6 levels (12.5–39.4 pg/ml), than in 1QR (1.10–5.00 pg/ml) (p = 0.04022). Univariate regression analysis in the CHF group with anemia revealed a significant effect of IL-6 on the risk of death from cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular causes in 4QR patients [1.087 (1.007–1.174), p = 0.033], which remained in the multivariate regression analysis after correction for covariates significant for prognosis: age [1.088 (1.005–1.178), p = 0.037] and hemoglobin levels [1.086 (1.006–1.173), p = 0.036], but did not persist after correction for NT-proBNP [1.031 (0.931–1.143), p = 0.556]. CONCLUSION . To assess the prognosis in elderly and senile patients with CHF and anemia, it is advisable to study IL-6 in addition to NT-proBNP as a marker of a high risk of death from cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular causes.

doi.org/10.37586/2686-8636-3-2026-277-286 Open access Biomarkers