Baseline characteristics of patients with non-cardioembolic stroke
| Ipsilateral plaque causing <50% stenosis (N=68) | Ipsilateral plaque causing ≥50% stenosis (N=143) | No ipsilateral plaque (N=68) | P value | |
| Age, years, (median, IQR) | 61 (53–69) | 60 (51–66) | 59 (51–68) | 0.457 |
| Male, n, % | 50/68 (73.5) | 102/143 (71.3) | 43/68 (63.2) | 0.368 |
| Hypertension, n, % | 45/67 (67.2) | 97/135 (71.1) | 33/66 (50.0)c* | 0.027 |
| Diabetes mellitus, n, % | 17/66 (25.8) | 42/132 (31.8) | 9/65 (13.8) | 0.154 |
| Coronary artery disease, n, % | 5/66 (7.6) | 15/131 (11.5) | 15/64 (23.4)b* | 0.032 |
| Prior stroke or TIA, n, % | 18/48 (37.5) | 34/107 (31.8) | 6/50 (12.0) | 0.229* |
| Drinking, n, % | 24/48 (50.0) | 50/107 (46.7) | 19/50 (38.0) | 0.985* |
| Smoking, n, % | 35/67 (52.2) | 76/134 (56.7) | 28/66 (42.4) | 0.314 |
| TC, mmol/L (median, IQR) | 3.60 (2.78–4.92) | 4.35 (3.73–5.66) | 4.54 (3.91–5.54) | 0.185 |
| HDL-C, mmol/L (median, IQR) | 0.99 (0.89–1.18) | 0.99 (0.90–1.14) | 1.09 (0.87–1.45) | 0.410 |
| LDL-C, mmol/L (mean±SD) | 2.53±0.75 | 2.66±0.90 | 2.79±0.77 | 0.545 |
| Triglyceride, mmol/L (median, IQR) | 1.33 (1.04–2.02) | 1.54 (1.06–2.21) | 1.34 (0.99–1.98) | 0.388 |
| Homocysteine, umol/L (median, IQR) | 12.31 (9.99–18.20) | 11.88 (9.30–15.78) | 12.88 (10.50–16.64) | 0.497* |
| GLU, mmol/L (median, IQR) | 5.81 (4.92–7.50) | 5.78 (5.18–7.16) | 5.74 (5.05–6.99) | 0.884* |
| Baseline NIHSS (median, IQR) | 3 (1-6) | 3 (1-7) | 7 (3-13)b,c* | 0.000 |
| NIHSS at discharge (median, IQR) | 1 (0–7) | 2 (0–5) | 2 (0–10) | 0.120 |
| Onset to HR-MRI time, h (median, IQR) | 72 (48–100) | 72 (48–120) | 58 (38–96) | 0.204 |
A significant difference exists if there is a superscript letter among subgroups, including a, ipsilateral plaque causing <50% stenosis versus ipsilateral plaque causing ≥50% stenosis; b, ipsilateral plaque causing <50% stenosis versus no ipsilateral plaque; c, ipsilateral plaque causing ≥50% stenosis versus no ipsilateral plaque. Values are mean ± SD, median (interquartile range), or n (%). *Indicates P value with multiple imputation.
*p<0.017 (Bonferroni significance threshold 0.05/3=0.017).
GLU, glucose; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; HR-MRI, high-resolution MRI; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; NIHSS, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale; TC, total cholesterol; TIA, transient ischaemic attack.