Table 1 Population characteristics and cholinergic parameters of stroke patients and matched controls.

n

264

264

Risk factors

Age, y (SD)

66.8 (12.7)

66.9 (11.4)

0.37

BMI, kg/m² (SD)

26.9 (4.6)

26.9 (4.2)

0.99

Gender, males (%)

64.7

64.7

1.00

Current smokers (%)

25.4

6.4

<0.001

Diabetes (%)

30.7

20.8

0.009

Hyperlipidemia (%)

41.9

49.2

0.089

Hypertension (%)

64.2

51.9

0.004

Inflammatory biomarkers

hs-CRP, mg/L (SD)

8.9 (22.2)

3.6 (4.4)

<0.001

ESR, mm/H (SD)

27.1 (18.4)

19.9 (14.3)

<0.001

Fibrinogen, g/dL (SD)

341.4 (76)

305.8 (59.8)

<0.001

WBCC, 10³/µL (SD)

8.7 (2.6)

6.9 (1.7)

<0.001

hs-IL-6, pg/mL (SD)

4.2 (3.4)

Medications

Acetylsalicylic acid, %

46.1^a (95)

46.1

0.883

β Blockers, %

19.9

26.5

0.065

Angiotensin II Blockers, %

2.2

5.2

0.067

ACE Inhibitors, %

17.6

29.3

<0.001

HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, %

30.0

29.6

0.929

Fibrates, %

8.7

9.3

0.746

Clopidogrel, %

0.4

3.8

<0.001

Neurological scores

NIHSS, mean (SD)

4.0 (3.9)

mRs, mean (SD)

1.9 (1.6)

Cholinergic activities

Cholinergic Status total activity, nmol substrate hydrolysed/min*ml (SD)

1705.1 (355.7)

1619.1 (303.8)

0.004

AChE activity, nmol substrate hydrolysed/min*ml (SD)

287.7 (114.3)

502.5 (127.8)

<0.001