Table 1.
Characteristics of the patients
| Characteristics | RLS | No RLS | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 224) | (n = 110) | ||
| Demographics | |||
| Age (mean ± SD, years) | 42.49 ± 10.97 | 44.03 ± 10.12 | 0.147♯ |
| Female | 160 (71.4) | 81 (73.6) | 0.672* |
| The main risk factors of vascular disease | |||
| BMI (mean ± SD) | 22.98 ± 3.32 | 20.03 ± 3.61 | 0.281♯ |
| Hypertension | 25 (11.2) | 15 (13.6) | 0.513* |
| Diabetes | 5 (2.2) | 5 (4.5) | 0.244* |
| Heart disease | 6 (2.7) | 4 (3.6) | 0.629* |
| Smoking | 0.627* | ||
| Never | 189 (84.4) | 97 (88.2) | |
| Current | 23 (10.3) | 8 (7.3) | |
| Former | 12 (5.4) | 5 (4.5) | |
| Headache characteristics | |||
| Aura | 67 (29.9) | 19 (17.3) | 0.013* |
| Family history of headache | 65 (29.0) | 26 (23.6) | 0.299* |
| Age of onset | 31.01 ± 11.85 | 32.65 ± 11.92 | 0.776♯ |
| Years from the first attack | 11.84 ± 11.16 | 11.39 ± 10.45 | 0.731♯ |
| MRI Findings | |||
| 0.265* | |||
| SBI | 20 (8.9) | 6 (5.5) | |
| 0.066※ | |||
| Posterior circulation only | 10 (4.5) | 1 (0.9) | 0.166* |
| Single silent brain infarct | 12 (5.4) | 4 (3.6) | |
| 0.355* | |||
| WMHs | 122 (54.5) | 54 (49.1) | |
| 0.543※ | |||
| pvWMHs | 7 (3.1) | 2 (1.8) | |
| dWMHs | 94 (42.0) | 46 (41.8) | 0.980* |
| dWMHs and pvWMHs | 21 (9.4) | 6 (5.5) | |
Abbreviations: BMI body mass index, MRI magnetic resonance imaging, SBI silent brain infarctions, WMHs white matter hyperintensities, pvWMHs periventricular WMHs, dWMHs deep WMHs
Data are presented as n (%) unless otherwise specified
*Pearson’s χ2, unadjusted for aura;
♯unpaired t-test
※P for trend computed by binary logistic regression