Serum bilirubin levels are associated with poor functional outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of serum bilirubin in stroke is controversial, since bilirubin has both neuroprotective and neurotoxic properties. We aimed to investigate the association between serum bilirubin, including total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL) and indirect bilirubin (IBIL) and poor functional outcomes in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) or transient ischemic attack (TIA). METHODS: All patients with AIS or TIA were recruited from the Third China National Stroke Registry. The poor functional outcomes included modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score 2–6 and 3–6 at 3 months and 1 year. Multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate the associations of TBIL, DBIL, and IBIL with poor functional outcomes. RESULTS: Among 11,121 enrolled patients, the median (interquartile range) of TBIL, DBIL, and IBIL was 13.30 (9.90–17.70), 3.80 (2.70–5.30), and 9.30 (6.70–12.80) µmol/L. After adjustment for conventional confounding factors, patients in the highest TBIL quartile had the highest proportion of mRS score 2–6 at 3 months (odds ratio [OR], 1.37; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.19–1.59) and 1 year (OR, 1.31; 95 % CI, 1.13–1.52), and mRS score 3–6 at 3 months (OR, 1.33; 95 % CI, 1.11–1.59) and 1 year (OR, 1.28; 95 % CI, 1.07–1.53), when compared to patients in the lowest TBIL quartile. Similar results were observed for DBIL and IBIL. We also found J-shaped associations between serum bilirubin levels and each outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated levels of serum bilirubin were significantly associated with poor functional outcomes in patients with AIS or TIA at 3 months and 1 year. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12883-021-02398-z.