Baseline characteristics of study cohort (n=3720)*
| Demographic features (%) | |
| Age (years) | 63±11 |
| Male | 65 |
| Black race | 12 |
| Hispanic ethnicity | 4 |
| College education (>12 years) | 48 |
| Married/living with partner | 71 |
| Clinical history (%)† | |
| Stroke at entry (vs TIA) | 87 |
| Hypertension | 72 |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 68 |
| Coronary artery disease | 12 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 7 |
| Carotid artery disease | 19 |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 6 |
| Current smoker | 16 |
| Physical examination | |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 30±6 |
| Waist (cm) | 103±14 |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 133±17 |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 79±11 |
| NIH Stroke Scale | 0 (0,1) |
| Modified Rankin | 1 (0,2) |
| Modified mini-mental examination | 96 (92, 99) |
| Laboratory data | |
| Haemoglobin A1c (%) | 5.8±0.4 |
| Homeostasis model assessment‡ | 4.6 (3.7, 6.2) |
| Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mmol/L) | 2.3±0.8 |
| High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.2±0.3 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 1.6±0.8 |
| Concomitant medications (%) | |
| Statin therapy | 82 |
| Aspirin | 74 |
| Non-ASA antiplatelet | 43 |
| Oral anticoagulants | 11 |
| Antithrombotics | 99 |
| Geography (%) | |
| USA | 67 |
| Canada | 14 |
| UK | 7 |
| Israel | 5 |
| Germany | 4 |
*Plus–minus values are means±SD. Features are presented as median values (25th centile, 75th centile) when distributions are highly skewed.
†Clinical history variables were defined as follows: stroke versus TIA, see entry criteria; hypertension, self-report; hyperlipidaemia, self-report; coronary artery disease, self-report history of hospitalisation for myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass graft or coronary stent insertion; atrial fibrillation, history as determined by site investigator; carotid artery disease, baseline carotid stenosis ≥50%; peripheral vascular disease, self-report; current smoking, self-report (uncertain self-report=‘no’).
‡HOMA is an index of insulin resistance based on fasting insulin and glucose values. HOMA >3.0 was used to identify patients with insulin resistance in IRIS.15
ASA, American Stroke Association; BMI, body mass index; HOMA, homeostasis model assessment; IRIS, Insulin Resistance Intervention after Stroke; TIA, transient ischemic attack.