Correlation between plasma lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 levels and risk of ischaemic stroke recurrence by gender in the Chinese population

ABSTRACT

Objective

To investigate the correlation between gender differences in plasma lipoprotein phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) levels and the risk of recurrent stroke in patients with acute ischaemic stroke in China.

Methods

We conducted a prospective follow-up study that included baselineLp-PLA2 levels and NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores in patients with ischaemic stroke upon admission. The diagnostic efficacy of the baseline Lp-PLA2 level for stroke recurrence was evaluated. And Kaplan‒Meier method was used to analyse the difference in the risk of recurrent stroke between these two groups among males and females. A paired t test was used to analyse the difference in Lp-PLA2 levels in male and female patients after follow-up.

Results

Baseline plasma Lp-PLA2 was higher in men and women with recurrent stroke than in those without recurrent stroke. The correlation between baseline Lp-PLA2 and neurological impairment was higher in female than male stroke patients (R = 0.338 and 0.253, respectively). Although weakly correlated with neurological impairment, baseline Lp-PLA2 was more effective in predicting recurrent stroke (AUC = 0.705 in men, 0.788 in women). A Cox model was used to compare the risk of stroke between the high- and low-Lp-PLA2 groups (OR = 3.98 in men, 2.61 in women). According to the follow-up time of 6 months as the node, Lp-PLA2 will give different risk indicators.

Conclusion

Elevated plasma Lp-PLA2 is an independent risk factor for recurrent ischaemic stroke but is not strongly associated with the degree of cerebral damage. The predictive value of baseline Lp-PLA2 for stroke recurrence risk was higher in females than in males.

KEYWORDS:

• Ischemic stroke
• Gender
• Lp-PLA2
• Recurrence

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval

This study complies with the ethical standards of the institution and/or the National Research Council, as well as the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent amendments or similar ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.