title: Plasma adiponectin levels and five-year survival after first-ever ischemic stroke.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to investigate the association between plasma adiponectin levels and 5-year survival after first-ever ischemic stroke.
  
  
  METHODS
  Plasma adiponectin measured within 24 hours after first-ever ischemic stroke was related to 5-year outcome. The Kaplan-Meier technique was applied in survival analysis, and the Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the relationship between risk factors and prognosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The probabilities of death were 92.8%, 52.5%, and 10.5% (P<0.001) for patients stratified according to tertiles of adiponectin (<4 microg/mL, 4 to 7 microg/mL, and >7 microg/mL, respectively). The relative risk of death was 8.1 (95% CI, 3.1, 24.5; P<0.001) for individuals with adiponectin levels in the lowest tertile compared with the upper tertile. Adiponectin <4 microg/mL (hazard ratio [HR], 5.2; 95% CI, 2.1, 18.4; P<0.001), score >15 in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (HR, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.7, 15.9; P<0.001), and coronary heart disease (HR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.5, 12.3; P<0.001) were independently associated with mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low plasma adiponectin is related to an increased risk of 5-year mortality after first-ever ischemic stroke, independently of other adverse predictors.
authors.affiliation: Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Hygieias Melathron, Athens, Greece. sefstath@tellas.gr
authors.forename: Stamatis P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Efstathiou
authors.forename: Dimitrios I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Tsioulos
authors.forename: Aphrodite G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Tsiakou
authors.forename: Yannis E
authors.initials: YE
authors.lastname: Gratsias
authors.forename: Angelos V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Pefanis
authors.forename: Theodore D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Mountokalakis
mesh_terms: D052242:Adiponectin / Q000097:blood* / Q000502:physiology*; D000368:Aged; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000097:blood* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D052242:Adiponectin