Elevated levels of total homocysteine after ischemic stroke: a potential marker for in-hospital outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to determine the risk conferred by elevated total homocysteine (tHcy) levels on recurrent stroke and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events after an ischemic stroke (IS), using data from the Chinese Stroke Center Alliance (CSCA).

METHODS: The study consisted of 746,854 total participants with IS. Subjects were split into groups as well as quartiles according to tHcy level. Groups included a hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) group with tHcy ≥15 μmol/l and a normohomocysteinemia group (nHcy) with tHcy <15 μmol/l. The determined groups and quartiles underwent multiple logistic regression models with nHcy or quartile 1 as reference groups, respectively. The information from these analyses was adjusted for potential covariates and used to investigate the association between blood tHcy and in-hospital outcomes. Information collected at discharge included in-hospital stroke recurrence and CVD events.

RESULTS: The mean [SD] age of participants was 66.2 [12.0] and 37.4% (n = 279,571) were female. The median hospital duration was 11.0 days (interquartile range, 8.0-14.0 days) and 343,346 (46.0%) patients were identified as HHcy cases (tHcy ≥15 μmol/). According to the tHcy quartile, the cumulative rates of stroke recurrence (from lowest quartile to highest) were 5.2%, 5.6%, 6.1%, and 6.6% (P < 0.0001). Similarly, those of CVD events were 5.8%, 6.1%, 6.7%, and 7.2% (P < 0.0001). Compared with the nHcy group, the HHcy group was associated with increased risks of in-hospital stroke recurrence (21912 [6.4%] vs. 22048 [5.5%], with the adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.08, 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.10) as well as CVD events (24001 [7.0%] vs. 24236 [6.0%], with the adjusted OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.06 to 1.10) among patients with IS in the fully adjusted model.

CONCLUSION: HHcy was associated with increased in-hospital stroke recurrence and CVD events among patients with IS. In low-folate regions, tHcy levels may potentially predict in-hospital outcomes after IS.