Table 3.
Characteristics of Patients with Ischemic Stroke According to ACTH Tertiles
| Parameter | All Patients | ACTH Tertiles | p-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tertile 1, n=255 | Tertile 2, n=257 | Tertile 3, n=256 | |||
| (0.32–20.55) | (20.56–39.79) | (39.80–143.40) | |||
| Demographic information | |||||
| Age, median (IQR) | 59 (52,66) | 61 (54,68) | 57 (51,67) | 57 (51,64) | 0.001* |
| Female, n (%) | 172 (22.4) | 73 (28.6) | 64 (24.9) | 35 (13.7) | <0.001* |
| BMI, median (IQR) | 24 (22,27) | 24 (22,26) | 24 (22,27) | 24 (23,27) | 0.411 |
| Sleep (<5 h) | 447 (58.2) | 162 (63.5) | 147 (57.2) | 138 (53.9) | 0.081 |
| Education level, n (%) | |||||
| Primary school and below | 221 (28.8) | 63 (24.7) | 85 (33.1) | 73 (28.5) | 0.025* |
| Junior middle school | 236 (30.7) | 67 (26.3) | 78 (30.4) | 91 (35.5) | |
| Senior high/Polytechnic school | 190 (24.7) | 74 (29.0) | 56 (21.8) | 60 (23.4) | |
| Bachelor/senior college and above | 121 (15.8) | 51 (20.0) | 38 (14.8) | 32 (12.5) | |
| Smoking, n (%) | 345 (44.9) | 111 (43.5) | 107 (41.6) | 127 (49.6) | 0.166 |
| Drinking, n (%) | 335 (43.6) | 96 (37.6) | 111 (43.2) | 128 (50.0) | 0.019* |
| Physical activity, n (%) | 298 (38.8) | 103 (40.4) | 88 (34.2) | 107 (41.8) | 0.175 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 462 (60.2) | 164 (64.3) | 161 (62.6) | 137 (53.5) | 0.027* |
| Diabetes mellitus, n (%) | 216 (28.1) | 72 (28.2) | 73 (28.4) | 71 (27.7) | 0.985 |
| Hyperlipemia, n (%) | 210 (27.3) | 76 (29.8) | 61 (23.7) | 73 (28.5) | 0.267 |
| CHD, n (%) | 82 (10.7) | 34 (13.3) | 23 (8.9) | 25 (9.8) | 0.233 |
| Serum biochemicals | |||||
| Fasting C-peptide, median (IQR) | 1.95 (1.26,2.60) | 1.96 (0.99,2.76) | 1.99 (1.43,2.61) | 1.91 (1.28,2.54) | 0.464 |
| ACTH, median (IQR) | 29.90 (16.61,44.50) | 11.20 (6.27,16.60) | 29.90 (24.80,34.70) | 54.15 (44.50,68.38) | <0.001* |
| Cortical, median (IQR) | 13.09 (10.50,15.80) | 11.79 (8.58,14.59) | 12.90 (10.90,15.50) | 14.30 (11.73,16.88) | <0.001* |
| WBC, median (IQR) | 6.76 (5.56,8.31) | 7.16 (5.68,8.73) | 6.79 (5.68,8.25) | 6.35 (5.34,7.84) | <0.001* |
| NEU, median (IQR) | 4.23 (3.30,5.64) | 4.66 (3.53,6.18) | 4.32 (3.45,5.61) | 3.91 (3.03,5.15) | <0.001* |
| IL.1β, median (IQR) | 69.87 (28.78,167.74) | 92.45 (39.11,203.68) | 73.61 (27.66,169.52) | 57.35 (23.66,149.34) | 0.004* |
| IL.6, median (IQR) | 5.12 (2.04,10.41) | 4.20 (1.92,10.12) | 5.36 (2.14,10.94) | 5.39 (2.05,10.26) | 0.686 |
| IL.10, median (IQR) | 9.04 (3.26,24.52) | 9.92 (3.44,40.69) | 9.05 (4.09,21.38) | 8.65 (2.27,19.66) | 0.208 |
| IL.18, median (IQR) | 1966.20 (955.19,4639,56) | 1901.16 (956.33,4426.81) | 1959.33 (918.77,4802.31) | 2015.05 (976.01,4913.12) | 0.821 |
| TNF.α, median (IQR) | 39.60 (21.78,58.73) | 41.05 (23.20,63.26) | 41.26 (22.75,58.95) | 36.73 (20.05,56.04) | 0.223 |
| IFN.γ, median (IQR) | 4.61 (1.79,8.82) | 4.70 (1.79,9.72) | 4.42 (1.66,8.69) | 4.78 (1.91,7.84) | 0.287 |
| BDNF, median (IQR) | 3.62 (2.14,7.64) | 3.92 (2.37,7.96) | 3.39 (1.97,8.05) | 3.53 (2.11,7.17) | 0.340 |
| Clinical characteristics | |||||
| NIHSS, median (IQR) | 3 (1,5) | 2 (1,5) | 3 (1,6) | 3 (1,5) | 0.004* |
| BI, median (IQR) | 95 (60,100) | 95 (65,100) | 85 (55,100) | 95 (60,100) | 0.040* |
| mRS, median (IQR) | 2 (1,4) | 1 (1,3) | 2 (1,4) | 2 (1,4) | <0.001* |
| 3 months HAMD, median (IQR) | 6 (3,10) | 5 (1,8) | 7 (3,11) | 6 (3,11) | <0.001* |
| 6 months HAMD, median (IQR) | 6 (3,9) | 5 (3,9) | 6 (3,9) | 6 (3,9) | 0.136 |
Notes: *Statistically significant at p < 0.05 level, two-sided.
Abbreviations: ACTH, adrenocorticotropic hormone; IQR, interquartile range, BMI, body mass index; CHD, coronary heart disease; NIHSS, The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; BI, Barthel Index; mRS, modified Rankin Scale.