Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of the studied patient population as stratified by CitH3 levels.
| Variable | 1st Quartile n = 80 |
2nd Quartile n = 81 |
3rd Quartile n = 80 |
4th Quartile n = 81 |
p Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographic characteristics | |||||
| Age, years | 63.9 ± 10.8 | 64.8 ± 11.5 | 64.4 ± 12.4 | 65.6 ± 11.8 | 0.811 |
| Male, n (%) | 39 (48.8) | 46 (56.8) | 48 (60.0) | 52 (64.2) | 0.239 |
| Vascular risk factors, n (%) | |||||
| Hypertension | 53 (66.3) | 59 (72.8) | 52 (65.0) | 69 (85.2) | 0.016 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 35 (43.8) | 29 (35.8) | 29 (36.3) | 34 (42.0) | 0.653 |
| Hyperlipidemia | 8 (10.0) | 10 (12.3) | 13 (16.3) | 7 (8.6) | 0.463 |
| Coronary heart disease | 12 (15.0) | 17 (21.0) | 11 (13.8) | 14 (17.3) | 0.626 |
| Smoking | 39 (48.8) | 33 (40.7) | 26 (32.5) | 33 (40.7) | 0.223 |
| Clinical data | |||||
| Previous statin therapy, n (%) | 20 (25.0) | 21 (25.9) | 27 (33.8) | 32 (39.5) | 0.149 |
| Previous antiplatelet therapy, n (%) | 18 (22.5) | 27 (33.3) | 26 (32.5) | 30 (37.0) | 0.228 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mmHg | 144.0 ± 23.8 | 137.4 ± 23.0 | 142.7 ± 25.2 | 140.5 ± 18.5 | 0.268 |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mmHg | 83.7 ± 11.8 | 79.9 ± 13.5 | 83.3 ± 15.1 | 81.5 ± 9.8 | 0.213 |
| Baseline NIHSS, score | 2.0 (0, 4.0) | 3.0 (0, 4.0) | 2.0 (0, 4.0) | 2.0 (0, 5.0) | 0.319 |
| Severe white matter lesions | 25 (31.3) | 31 (38.3) | 38 (47.5) | 54 (66.7) | 0.001 |
| Stroke etiology, n (%) | 0.007 | ||||
| Large artery atherosclerosis | 29 (36.3) | 38 (46.9) | 40 (50.0) | 48 (59.3) | 0.034 |
| Cardioembolic | 7 (8.8) | 13 (16.0) | 14 (17.5) | 12 (14.8) | 0.407 |
| Small vessel occlusion | 34 (42.5) | 16 (19.8) | 19 (23.8) | 15 (18.5) | 0.001 |
| Others | 10 (12.5) | 14 (17.3) | 7 (8.8) | 6 (7.4) | 0.197 |
| Laboratory data | |||||
| Total cholesterol, mmol/L | 3.8 ± 0.9 | 3.9 ± 0.8 | 3.8 ± 0.9 | 3.7 ± 1.0 | 0.464 |
| Triglyceride, mmol/L | 1.4 (1.1, 2.1) | 1.3 (1.0, 1.9) | 1.4 (1.1, 2.2) | 1.4 (1.1, 2.0) | 0.468 |
| Low density lipoprotein, mmol/L | 2.1 (1.4, 3.0) | 2.0 (1.8, 2.4) | 2.1 (0.9, 2.5) | 1.8 (1.4, 3.4) | 0.243 |
| High density lipoprotein, mmol/L | 1.0 (0.9, 1.1) | 1.0 (0.9, 1.2) | 1.1 (0.9, 1.2) | 0.9 (0.8, 1.1) | 0.117 |
| Homocysteine, mmol/L | 11.7 ± 3.1 | 13.7 ± 6.1 | 13.4 ± 4.3 | 15.5 ± 6.5 | 0.002 |
| Baseline blood glucose, mmol/L | 7.4 ± 2.9 | 6.9 ± 2.6 | 6.7 ± 2.6 | 6.5 ± 2.4 | 0.185 |
| Hs-CRP, mg/L | 2.3 (1.1, 4.4) | 5.7 (1.8, 13.2) | 4.7 (2.2, 7.9) | 13.1 (3.8, 21.0) | 0.001 |
Abbreviations: CitH3, Citrullinated histone H3; Hs-CRP, hypersensitive C-reactive protein; NIHSS, National Institute of Health Stroke Scal. p indicated the statistical difference in the baseline data between groups.