Risk factors affecting the 1-year outcomes of minor ischemic stroke: results from Xi’an stroke registry study of China

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of stroke recurrence, disability, and all-cause mortality of patients with minor ischemic stroke (MIS) remains problematic. The aim of the present study was to identify risk factors associated with adverse outcomes at 1 year after MIS in the Xi’an region of China. METHODS: This prospective cohort study included MIS patients above 18 years old with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score ≤ 3 who were treated in any of four hospitals in Xi’an region of China between January and December 2015. The 1-year prevalence of stroke recurrence, disability, and all-cause mortality were evaluated, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association between the identified risk factors and clinical outcomes. RESULTS: In this study, 131(10.5%, 131/1252) patients were lost to follow-up at 1 year. A total of 1121 patients were included for analysis, the prevalence of stroke recurrence, disability, and all-cause mortality at 1 year after MIS were 3.4% (38/1121), 9.3% (104/1121), and 3.3% (37/1121), respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified age, current smoking, and pneumonia as independent risk factors for stroke recurrence. Age, pneumonia, and alkaline phosphatase were independent risk factors for all-cause mortality. Independent risk factors for disability were age, pneumonia, NIHSS score on admission, and leukocyte count. CONCLUSIONS: The 1-year outcomes of MIS in Xi’an region of China were not optimistic, especially with a high prevalence of disability. The present study indicated that age and pneumonia were the common independent risk factors affecting the 1-year outcomes of MIS in Xi’an region of China.