Table 1. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the study participants.
| Characteristics | IAS burden=0 (n=1371) | IAS burden=1 (n=637) | IAS burden≥2 (n=484) | z /χ2 | P |
| Age, years (Mean ± SD) | 67.14±11.20 | 71.02±10.01 | 73.91±10.13 | 154.796 | <0.001 |
| Female, n (%) | 887(64.70) | 335(52.59) | 214(44.21) | 70.339 | <0.001 |
| MAP, mm Hg, median (IQR) | 100(92-107) | 100(93-107) | 101(93-109) | 11.212 | 0.004 |
| History of stroke, n (%) | 172(12.55) | 138(21.66) | 169(34.92) | 118.595 | <0.001 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 929(67.76) | 502(78.81) | 407(84.09) | 60.561 | <0.001 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 392(28.59) | 238(37.36) | 252(52.07) | 87.652 | <0.001 |
| Dyslipidemia, n (%) | 1052(76.73) | 483(75.82) | 370(76.45) | 0.199 | 0.905 |
| Coronary heart disease, n (%) | 555(40.48) | 313(49.14) | 248(51.24) | 23.301 | <0.001 |
| Atrial fibrillation, n (%) | 51(3.72) | 58(9.11) | 77(15.91) | 80.288 | <0.001 |
| Hyperuricemia, n (%) | 530(38.66) | 274(43.01) | 222(45.87) | 8.877 | 0.012 |
| Smoking habits, n (%) | 258(18.82) | 157(24.65) | 175(36.19) | 59.958 | <0.001 |
| Drinking habits, n (%) | 180(13.13) | 105(16.48) | 127(26.24) | 44.559 | <0.001 |
| FBG, mmol/l, median (IQR) | 5.25(4.73-6.03) | 5.23(4.69-6.36) | 5.57(4.82-7.72) | 29.822 | <0.001 |
| SUA, umol/l, median (IQR) | 334.33(281.55-384.44) | 332.48(277.39-406.16) | 347.54(286.50-419.87) | 8.995 | 0.011 |
| Homocysteine, umol/l, median (IQR) | 6.9(5.8-8.2) | 7.1(5.9-8.5) | 7.6(6.5-9.6) | 39.067 | <0.001 |
| Lipoprotein(a), mg/dl median (IQR) | 17.26(8.79-34.35) | 18.22(7.61-37.65) | 22.45(10.92-42.75) | 15.250 | <0.001 |
| Triglycerides, mmol/l, median (IQR) | 1.30(0.97-1.79) | 1.22(0.93-1.59) | 1.24(0.91-1.69) | 15.180 | <0.001 |
| Total cholesterol, mmol/l, median (IQR) | 4.94(4.23-5.72) | 4.88(3.96-5.77) | 4.51(3.77-5.47) | 33.037 | <0.001 |
| HDL, mmol/l, median (IQR) | 1.15(0.97-1.38) | 1.14(0.95-1.31) | 1.02(0.89-1.23) | 59.970 | <0.001 |
| LDL, mmol/l, median (IQR) | 3.03(2.50-3.60) | 3.08(2.40-3.67) | 2.77(2.27-3.43) | 25.359 | <0.001 |
| Neutrophil, ×109/l, median (IQR) | 3.32 (2.60-4.30) | 3.53(2.70-4.65) | 3.81(2.88-5.00) | 31.961 | <0.001 |
| Lymphocyte, ×109/l, median (IQR) | 1.99(1.59-2.45) | 1.90(1.42-2.39) | 1.86(1.48-2.30) | 22.238 | <0.001 |
| Autoimmune disease, n (%) | 72(5.25) | 30(4.71) | 26(5.37) | 0.331 | 0.848 |
| ANAs(positive), n (%) | 243(17.72) | 145(22.76) | 184(38.02) | 83.309 | <0.001 |
IAS, Intracranial arterial stenosis; MAP, mean arterial pressure; SBP, systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; MAP=(SBP+2×DBP)/3; FBG, fasting blood glucose; SUA, serum uric acid; HDL, high density lipoprotein; LDL, low density lipoprotein; ANAs, antinuclear antibodies. IAS burden was defined as the total number of intracranial arteries with significant stenosis (≥50% stenosis).