Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the study population.
| Carotid plaque | Non-carotid plaque | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 852) | (n = 1,525) | P value | |
| Age (years) | 67.1 ± 16.8 | 61.9 ± 21.7 | < 0.001 |
| Male (n, %) | 422 (49.5) | 643 (42.2) | < 0.001 |
| Weight (kg) | 62.9 ± 15.4 | 63.5 ± 18.9 | 0.413 |
| Height (cm) | 157.3 ± 16.7 | 156.8 ± 17.9 | 0.462 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 26.4 ± 5.2 | 26.2 ± 5.6 | 0.411 |
| Hypertension (n, %) | 692 (81.2) | 1111 (72.9) | < 0.001 |
| Diabetes mellitus (n, %) | 231 (27.1) | 422 (27.7) | 0.386 |
| Current smoking (n, %) | 349 (41.0) | 467 (30.6) | < 0.001 |
| History of stroke (n, %) | 143 (16.8) | 301 (19.7) | 0.072 |
| Stroke subtype | |||
| Hemorrhagic | 26 (3.1) | 71 (4.7) | 0.071 |
| Ischemic stroke | 117 (13.7) | 230 (15.1) | 0.574 |
| Atherothromobosis | 73 (8.6) | 136 (8.9) | - |
| Cardioembolism | 16 (1.9) | 29 (1.9) | - |
| Lacunar | 28 (3.3) | 65 (4.3) | - |
| Coronary artery disease (n, %) | 77 (9.0) | 118 (7.7) | 0.289 |
| Atrial fibrillation (n, %) | 15 (1.8) | 35 (2.3) | 0.367 |
| Dyslipidemia (n, %) | 291 (34.2) | 527 (34.6) | 0.972 |
| Total cholesterol (mM) | 5.4 ± 1.6 | 5.2 ± 1.8 | 0.006 |
| LDL (mM) | 3.1 ± 1.2 | 3.0 ± 1.3 | 0.072 |
| HDL (mM) | 1.6 ± 0.7 | 1.6 ± 0.8 | 0.965 |
| Triglycerides (mM) | 1.8 ± 0.9 | 3.5 ± 0.9 | < 0.001 |
| Fasting blood glucose (mM) | 6.6 ± 1.8 | 6.3 ± 2.1 | < 0.001 |
| Homocysteine (mM) | 13.9 ± 5.5 | 13.2 ± 5.7 | < 0.001 |
| Antihypertensive drugs | 387 (45.4) | 563 (36.9) | < 0.001 |
| Antithrombotic medications | 140 (16.4) | 271 (17.8) | 0.435 |
| Statin use | 64 (7.5) | 110 (7.2) | 0.773 |
| Plaque characteristics (n, %) | |||
| Stable plaque | 454 (53.3) | - | |
| Vulnerable plaque | 398 (46.7) | - |
LDL, low-density lipoprotein; HDL, high-density lipoprotein;