Table 1.
Baseline Demographic and Clinical Characteristics Between Groups
| Variables | Experimental Group (n = 108) |
Control Group (n = 101) |
P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (yrs), mean ± SD | 64.35 ± 10.59 | 61.36 ± 15.27 | 0.287 |
| Male, n (%) | 79 (73.1%) | 68 (67.3%) | 0.686 |
| Stratification indicator, n (%) | 0.459 | ||
| wCST-LL<2mL | 59 (54.6%) | 50 (49.5%) | |
| wCST-LL≥2mL | 49 (45.4%) | 51 (50.5%) | |
| Time from onset to enrollment (d), mean ± SD | 3.81 ± 1.61 | 4.07 ± 1.81 | 0.492 |
| Muscle strength on hemiplegic side, median (IQR) | |||
| Upper limb | 2.00 (1.00–4.00) | 2.00 (0.50–4.00) | 0.772‡ |
| Lower limb | 3.00 (2.00–4.00) | 3.00 (2.00–4.00) | 0.510‡ |
| Education, n (%) | 0.071‡ | ||
| Illiteracy | 10 (9.3%) | 11(10.9%) | |
| Primary school | 33 (30.6%) | 36 (35.6%) | |
| Junior high school | 33 (30.6%) | 33 (32.7%) | |
| High school/technical secondary school | 20 (18.5%) | 20 (19.8%) | |
| College degree and above | 12 (11.2%) | 1 (1.0%) | |
| Insurance, n (%) | 0.779 | ||
| Local medical insurance | 53 (48.9%) | 55 (54.5%) | |
| Offsite medical insurance | 36 (33.3%) | 27 (26.7%) | |
| No medical insurance | 19 (17.6%) | 19 (18.8%) | |
| Risk factors, n (%) | |||
| Smoking | 49 (45.4%) | 44 (43.6%) | 0.793 |
| Family history of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases | 6 (5.6%) | 8 (7.9%) | 0.494 |
| TIA | 1 (0.9%) | 2 (2.0%) | 0.953† |
| Hypertension | 73 (67.6%) | 70 (69.3%) | 0.790 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 28 (25.9%) | 33 (32.7%) | 0.284 |
| Atrial fibrillation | 3 (2.8%) | 9 (8.9%) | 0.057† |
| Coronary heart disease | 5 (4.6%) | 4 (4.0%) | 0.811† |
| Hyperhomocysteinemia | 23 (21.3%) | 21 (20.8%) | 0.929 |
| Hyperlipidemia | 19 (17.6%) | 19 (18.8%) | 0.819 |
| MAS, median (IQR) | 12.00 (4.00–24.80) | 11.00 (3.00–24.50) | 0.604 |
| FMA, median (IQR) | 28.50 (17.00–53.80) | 30.00 (12.00–53.50) | 0.603 |
| ARAT, median (IQR) | 1.00 (0.00–26.80) | 0.00 (0.00–28.50) | 0.673 |
| MBI, median (IQR) | 29.50 (20.70–50.00) | 28.00 (20.00–55.00) | 0.929‡ |
| NIHSS, median (IQR) | 6.00 (4.00–9.00) | 6.00 (3.00–10.00) | 0.613‡ |
| mRS, median (IQR) | 4.00 (4.00–4.00) | 4.00 (4.00–4.00) | 0.992 |
Notes: †Fisher exact probability method; ‡Mann–Whitney U-test.
Abbreviations: wCST-LL, weighted corticospinal tract lesion load; TIA, transient ischemic attacks; MAS, Motor Assessment Scale; FMA, Fugl-Meyer Assessment; ARAT, Action Research Arm Test; MBI, modified Barthel Index; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; mRS, modified Rankin Scale; SD, standard deviation; IQR, interquartile range.