Data Extraction

Data were extracted by two independent authors (Yuehua Li and Hanjun Pei). Discrepancies were resolved by group discussion. The extracted data included the source of study (author, publication year, country), population characteristics [mean age, male proportion, number of subjects, percentage of elevated cTns, hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM), coronary artery diseases (CADs), heart failure (HF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic kidney disease (CKD), cancer], follow-up term, the different threshold of cTns, ORs, or RRs and their corresponding 95% CI. We assessed study quality by the Newcastle–Ottawa quality assessment scale which is a validated scale for non-randomized studies in meta-analyses. This scale assigns a maximum of nine points to each study: four points for selection, two points for comparability, and three points for the assessment of outcomes and adequacy of follow-up. We assigned scores of 0–3, 4–7, and 8–9 for low-, moderate-, and high-quality studies, respectively.