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

Abstract

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.