Relationship between fasting blood glucose and subsequent vascular events in Chinese patients with mild ischaemic stroke: a cohort study

OBJECTIVE: To characterise the relationship between fasting blood glucose (FBG) and the incidence of subsequent vascular events (SVE) during the 6 months following a mild ischaemic stroke (MIS) in Chinese patients. METHODS: Data from patients with MIS were retrospectively analysed. The primary endpoint was an SVE during the 6-month follow-up period. The participants were allocated to three groups (tertiles), according to their FBG concentration. RESULTS: Of the 260 participants, 51 (19.6%) reported an SVE during the follow-up period. The incidence of SVE significantly differed among the tertiles of FBG. The odds ratio (OR) was 2.361 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.551–3.594) for FBG as a continuous variable and that for FBG categorised according to tertile was 13.30 (95% CI: 3.519–50.322) in the fully adjusted model. Curve fitting showed that the incidence of SVE gradually increased with increasing FBG, with the highest tertile showing the highest mean incidence (46.7%; 95% CI: 16.2%–79.9%). In addition, participants with or without diabetes mellitus, hypertension, headache, dizziness, mild cognitive impairment or anterior circulation artery lesion showed similar associations between FBG and the incidence of SVE. CONCLUSION: FBG is an independent predictor of 6-month SVE risk in Chinese patients with MIS.