Higher baseline lnRCII was associated with an increased risk of incident CMM in middle-aged and older Chinese adults, although RCII may capture combined information on remnant cholesterol and inflammation, its clinical predictive value requires further validation.
Cardiometabolic multimorbidity occurred in about 30% of the CHARLS cohort analyzed, and its incidence was highest in the top lnRCII quartile.
Each unit increase in lnRCII was associated with a higher risk of CMM in the fully adjusted model.
Participants in the highest lnRCII quartile had a higher risk of CMM than those in the lowest quartile.
lnRCII showed only modest discriminatory ability for CMM.
The authors conclude that higher baseline lnRCII is associated with increased risk of incident CMM, but that clinical predictive value needs further validation.
This study looked at a combined measure called the remnant cholesterol inflammatory index (RCII), which blends a type of blood fat (remnant cholesterol) with a marker of inflammation (hs-CRP). Using data from 6173 middle-aged and older adults in China, the researchers asked whether people with higher RCII were more likely to develop cardiometabolic multimorbidity, meaning two or more of hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, or stroke. About 1832 participants developed this condition. Higher RCII was linked to higher risk: each unit increase in the log-transformed index was associated with a 13% higher risk, and people in the highest quarter of RCII had about a 69% higher risk than those in the lowest quarter, after adjusting for other factors. However, the index was only modestly able to tell who would and would not develop the condition (AUC 0.607). This research suggests RCII is associated with risk, possibly reflecting combined effects of cholesterol and inflammation, but it is not yet clear that it is useful as a predictive tool in clinical practice. Further validation is needed.
Wang Y, Dong Q, Wang W, Tang S, Yu N, Wang Y, et al.. (2026). Remnant Cholesterol Inflammatory Index and its Association With Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity in Middle-Aged and Advanced-Aged Individuals: Evidence From the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.. Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research. https://doi.org/10.12659/MSM.953230