Non-traditional Lipid Parameters as Potential Predictors of Asymptomatic Intracranial Arterial Stenosis

Jiahuan Guo; Anxin Wang; Yu Wang; Xinmin Liu; Xiaoli Zhang; Shouling Wu; Xingquan Zhao

doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.679415

Non-traditional Lipid Parameters as Potential Predictors of Asymptomatic Intracranial Arterial Stenosis

Front Neurol. 2021 Aug 31:12:679415. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.679415. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Jiahuan Guo^{1

2

3}, Anxin Wang^{1

2

3}, Yu Wang^{1

2

3}, Xinmin Liu^{1

2

3}, Xiaoli Zhang^{1

2}, Shouling Wu⁴, Xingquan Zhao^{1

2

3

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
² China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
³ Research Unit of Artificial Intelligence in Cerebrovascular Disease, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁴ Department of Cardiology, Kailuan Hospital, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, China.
⁵ Center of Stroke, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Background: Intracranial arterial stenosis (ICAS) is a common cause of stroke. Identifying effective predictors of ICAS that could be easily obtained in clinical practice is important. The predictive values of serum individual lipid parameters have been well-established. In recent years, several non-traditional lipid parameters demonstrated greater predictive values for cardiovascular disease and ischemic stroke than traditional individual lipid parameters. However, their effects on asymptomatic ICAS (aICAS) are less clear. Therefore, we sought to observe the effects of non-traditional lipid parameters on aICAS. Methods: We enrolled 5,314 participants from the Asymptomatic Polyvascular Abnormalities in Community study. Asymptomatic ICAS was detected by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD). Non-traditional lipid parameters, including non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C), the triglycerides/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL-C), atherogenic coefficient (AC), atherogenic index of plasma, and Castelli's risk index (CRI) were measured. We used multivariable logistic analysis to assess the association of different lipid parameters with aICAS; a trend test and subgroup analyses were also performed. Results: In total, 695 of 5,314 participants had aICAS in this study. For the comparison of the highest to the lowest tertile, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) (95% CIs) were 1.78 (1.39-2.27) (p trend < 0.001) for non-HDL-C, 1.48 (1.18-1.85) (p trend = 0.004) for the AC, 1.48 (1.18-1.85) (p trend = 0.004) for CRI-I, and 1.34 (1.09-1.66) (p trend = 0.032) for CRI-II. Subgroup analyses showed significant interactions between the AC, CRI-I, and diabetes. Conclusions: This large community-based study showed that non-HDL-C, AC, CRI-I, and CRI-II were significantly associated with increased prevalence of aICAS.

Keywords: asymptomatic intracranial atherosclerosis; epidemiology; lipid parameters; predictor; prevalence.