Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of the Study Population, the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study Visit 1 (1987-1989)a.
| Characteristic | Participants with vs without ischemic stroke (N = 15 379) | Participants with ischemic stroke by severity of incident stroke (N = 999) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All (N = 15 379) | No stroke (n = 14 224) | Stroke (n = 1155) | P value | All (N = 999) | NIHSS ≤5 (n = 647) | NIHSS 6-10 (n = 208) | NIHSS 11-15 (n = 73) | NIHSS ≥16 (n = 71) | P trend | |
| Age | ||||||||||
| No. | 15 379 | 14 224 | 1155 | NA | 999 | 647 | 208 | 73 | 71 | NA |
| Mean (SD), y | 54.1 (5.8) | 54 (5.8) | 55.5 (5.7) | <.001 | 55.7 (5.6) | 55.5 (5.7) | 56 (5.7) | 56.2 (5.4) | 57 (4.7) | .09 |
| Age at time of stroke | ||||||||||
| No. | NA | NA | 1155 | NA | 999 | 647 | 208 | 73 | 71 | NA |
| Mean (SD), y | NA | NA | 71.1 (8.7) | NA | 70.2 (8.5) | 70.5 (8.6) | 69.1 (7.7) | 69.5 (9.2) | 70.8 (8.5) | .17 |
| Female, No./total No. (%) | 8485/15 379 (55.2) | 7902/14 224 (55.6) | 583/1155 (50.5) | .001 | 497/999 (49.7) | 319/647 (49.3) | 94/208 (45.2) | 45/73 (61.6) | 39/71 (54.9) | .19 |
| Race and center, No./total No. (%) | ||||||||||
| Black, Jackson, Mississippi | 3649/15 379 (23.7) | 3275/14 224 (23.0) | 374/1155 (32.4) | <.001 | 341/999 (34.1) | 207/647 (32.0) | 82/208 (39.4) | 24/73 (32.9) | 28/71 (39.4) | .09 |
| Black, Forsyth County, North Carolina | 461/15 379 (3.0) | 416/14 224 (2.9) | 45/1155 (3.9) | 41/999 (4.1) | 31/647 (4.8) | 9/208 (4.3) | 1/73 (1.4) | 0 | ||
| White, Forsyth County, North Carolina | 3441/15 379 (22.4) | 3234/14 224 (22.7) | 207/1155 (17.9) | 173/999 (17.3) | 120/647 (18.5) | 35/208 (16.8) | 10/73 (13.7) | 8/71 (11.3) | ||
| White, Minneapolis, Minnesota | 3927/15 379 (25.5) | 3676/14 224 (25.8) | 251/1155 (21.7) | 215/999 (21.5) | 151/647 (23.3) | 36/208 (17.3) | 14/73 (19.2) | 14/71 (19.7) | ||
| White, Washington County, Maryland | 3901/15 379 (25.4) | 3623/14 224 (25.5) | 278/1155 (24.1) | 229/999 (22.9) | 138/647 (21.3) | 46/208 (22.1) | 24/73 (32.9) | 21/71 (29.6) | ||
| Education, No. (%) | ||||||||||
| Did not complete high school | 3651/15 379 (23.7) | 3269/14 224 (23.0) | 382/1155 (33.1) | <.001 | 339/999 (33.9) | 210/647 (32.5) | 80/208 (38.5) | 22/73 (30.1) | 27/71 (38.0) | .59 |
| High school, GED, or vocational school | 6277/15 379 (40.8) | 5841/14 224 (41.1) | 436/1155 (37.7) | 376/999 (37.6) | 254/647 (39.3) | 72/208 (34.6) | 26/73 (35.6) | 24/71 (33.8) | ||
| College, professional, or graduate school | 5451/15 379 (35.4) | 5114/14 224 (36.0) | 337/1155 (29.2) | 284/999 (28.4) | 183/647 (28.3) | 56/208 (26.9) | 25/73 (34.2) | 20/71 (28.2) | ||
| One or more APOE alleles, No./total No. (%) | 4586/14 836 (30.9) | 4223/13 715 (30.8) | 363/1121 (32.4) | .27 | 311/969 (32.1) | 190/633 (30.0) | 73/197 (37.1) | 25/71 (35.2) | 23/68 (33.8) | .18 |
| Smoking status, No./total No. (%) | ||||||||||
| Current | 4006/15 372 (26.1) | 3648/14 218 (25.7) | 358/1154 (31.0) | .001 | 315/998 (31.6) | 194/647 (30.0) | 77/207 (37.2) | 19/73 (26.0) | 25/71 (35.2) | .36 |
| Former | 4951/15 372 (32.2) | 4603/14 218 (32.4) | 348/1154 (30.2) | 300/998 (30.1) | 205/647 (31.7) | 56/207 (27.1) | 21/73 (28.8) | 18/71 (25.4) | ||
| Never | 6415/15 372 (41.7) | 5967/14 218 (42.0) | 448/1154 (38.8) | 383/998 (38.4) | 248/647 (38.3) | 74/207 (35.7) | 33/73 (45.2) | 28/71 (39.4) | ||
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | ||||||||||
| No. | 15 356 | 14 205 | 1151 | NA | 995 | 646 | 208 | 72 | 69 | NA |
| Mean (SD) | 27.7 (5.4) | 27.6 (5.4) | 28.6 (5.5) | <.001 | 28.7 (5.5) | 28.4 (5.0) | 29.3 (6.4) | 29.2 (6.9) | 29.5 (5.5) | .08 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mm HG | ||||||||||
| No. | 15 366 | 14 214 | 1152 | NA | 997 | 646 | 208 | 72 | 71 | NA |
| Mean (SD) | 121.3 (18.8) | 120.7 (18.5) | 128.4 (21.1) | <.001 | 128.9 (21.5) | 127.2 (21.4) | 132.5 (21.2) | 129.2 (21.0) | 133.1 (22.1) | .005 |
| Hypertension medication use, No./total No. (%) | 4667/15 379 (30.4) | 4177/14 224 (29.4) | 490/1155 (42.4) | <.001 | 437/999 (43.7) | 265/647 (41.0) | 97/208 (46.6) | 35/73 (47.9) | 40/71 (56.3) | .006 |
| Diabetes, No./total No. (%) | 1803/15 243 (11.8) | 1536/14 102 (10.9) | 267/1141 (23.4) | <.001 | 247/987 (25.0) | 148/640 (23.1) | 61/205 (29.8) | 17/72 (23.6) | 21/70 (30.0) | .14 |
| Total cholesterol, mg/dL | ||||||||||
| No. | 15 137 | 14 003 | 1134 | NA | 980 | 634 | 205 | 72 | 69 | NA |
| Mean (SD) | 215 (42.1) | 214.6 (41.8) | 220.3 (45.0) | <.001 | 220.2 (45.7) | 219.7 (43.9) | 219.9 (49.1) | 220.9 (49.2) | 225.1 (47.9) | .83 |
| Statin use, No./total No. (%) | 88/15 264 (0.6) | 83/14 120 (0.6) | 5/1144 (0.4) | .52 | 4/990 (0.4) | 3/642 (0.5) | 1/207 (0.5) | 0 | 0 | .48 |
| Global cognition factor score | ||||||||||
| No. | 13 878 | 12 838 | 1040 | NA | 894 | 595 | 180 | 56 | 63 | NA |
| Mean (SD) | 0.7 (0.9) | 0.7 (0.9) | 0.4 (0.9) | <.001 | 0.3 (0.9) | 0.3 (0.9) | 0.2 (0.9) | 0.5 (1.0) | 0.3 (0.9) | .21 |
| Dementia diagnosis by 2019, No./total No. (%) | 2860/15 379 (18.6) | 2591/14 224 (18.2) | 269/1155 (23.3) | <.001 | 234/999 (23.4) | 165/647 (25.5) | 45/208 (21.6) | 17/73 (23.3) | 7/71 (9.9) | .007 |
| Deceased by 2019, No./total No. (%) | 8544/15 379 (55.6) | 7698/14 224 (54.1) | 846/1155 (73.2) | <.001 | 763/999 (76.4) | 466/647 (72.0) | 173/208 (83.2) | 57/73 (78.1) | 67/71 (94.4) | <.001 |
Abbreviations: APOE, apolipoprotein E; NIHSS, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.
a
Study baseline defined as the first assessment (1987-1989) conducted for the ARIC study. Univariate baseline differences in study variables were assessed using χ2 tests, t tests, linear regression, Cochran-Armitage trend tests, and Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel trend tests as appropriate.