Relationship of Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio with Carotid Plaque Vulnerability and Occurrence of Vulnerable Carotid Plaque in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke

Table 1

Baseline characteristics of all study population in different groups.

Item	Control ()	Non-plaque ()	Stable plaque ()	Vulnerable plaque ()	/ value	value
Age, years		^a	^ab	^ab	26.752	<0.001
Male, (%)	166 (53.7)	138 (55.9)	50 (53.8)	169 (68.1)^abc	13.939	0.003
Hyperlipidemia, (%)	67 (21.7)	63 (25.5)	22 (23.7)	61 (24.6)	1.249	0.741
Hypertension, (%)	195 (63.1)	176 (71.3)^a	75 (80.6)^a	200 (80.6)^ab	24.842	<0.001
Diabetes, (%)	64 (20.7)	61 (24.7)	27 (29.0)	87 (35.1)^ab	15.345	0.002
CHD, (%)	12 (3.9)	13 (5.3)	4 (4.3)	21 (8.5)^a	5.955	0.114
AF, (%)	8 (2.6)	17 (6.9)^a	5 (5.4)	14 (5.6)	5.960	0.114
Smoking, (%)	28 (9.1)	37 (15.0)^a	21 (22.6)^a	43 (17.3)^a	14.013	0.003
Drinking, (%)	21 (6.8)	28 (11.3)	14 (15.1)^a	30 (12.1)^a	7.486	0.058
TC, mmol/L		^a	^b		2.491	0.059
TG, mmol/L					0.683	0.563
HDL-C, mmol/L		^a		^a	5.178	0.001
LDL-C, mmol/L		^a			2.242	0.082
ApoAI, g/L		^a	^b	^ac	8.024	<0.001
ApoB, g/L		^a			1.635	0.180
Lp(a), nmol/L			^a	^a	3.405	0.017
BMI, kg/m^2		^a	^a	^a	16.038	<0.001
SBP, mmHg			^ab	^ab	8.694	<0.001
DBP, mmHg		^a		^a	3.498	0.015
FBG, mmol/L				^a	2.026	0.109
Hcy, μmol/L				^a	1.499	0.213
Fib, g/L		^a	^a	^a	6.270	<0.001
CRP, mg/L		^a			3.931	0.008
Leukocyte (×10^9/L)		^a		^a	4.237	0.006
Neutrophil (×10^9/L)					0.910	0.435
Lymphocyte (×10^9/L)		^a		^b	2.406	0.066
NLR				^abc	2.837	0.037

Abbreviations: CHD: coronary heart disease; AF: atrial fibrillation; TC: total cholesterol; TG: triglyceride; HDL-C: high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; ApoAI: apolipoprotein AI; ApoB: apolipoprotein B; Lp(a): lipoprotein(a); BMI: body mass index; SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; FBG: fasting blood glucose; Hcy: homocysteine; Fib: fibrinogen; CRP: C-reactive protein; NLR: neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio. ^a, as compared to control; ^b, as compared to nonplaque; ^c, as compared to stable plaque.