The asymmetric dimethylarginine level is associated with the predicted stroke risk in Japanese women.
OBJECTIVE
Asymmetric dimethylarginine(ADMA) has recently been investigated as a risk marker for cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases. However, it is not currently known whether the ADMA levels are related to the risk of stroke in Japanese women.


METHODS
We examined 192 Japanese women(mean age, 55±9 years, range, 40-80 years) who underwent health examinations. The ADMA level and various vascular risk factors of each subject were assessed, and the predicted 10-year stroke risk was calculated using the point-based prediction model provided by the Japan Public Health Center study.


RESULTS
In a correlation coefficient analysis, age was found to be the only factor significantly correlated with the ADMA level. A significant odds ratio (OR) for a high predicted stroke risk(10-year risk, ≥5%) was noted in the highest ADMA level tertile(6.24; 95% CI, 1.13-34.5; p=0.036) compared with the lowest tertile, after adjusting for potential confounding factors. A significant OR for a high predicted stroke risk was also found for each increment in the ADMA tertile and standard deviation(adjusted OR, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.09-5.34; p=0.029; and 2.51; 95% CI, 1.24-5.11; p=0.011, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
An elevated ADMA level is significantly associated with an increased predicted stroke risk, suggesting that measuring the ADMA level is useful for identifying Japanese women with an elevated stroke risk.
Department of Neurological Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School.
Kanako
K
Muraga
Yasuhiro
Y
Nishiyama
Toshiaki
T
Otsuka
Masayuki
M
Ueda
Arata
A
Abe
Yasuo
Y
Katayama
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001120:Arginine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*
C018524:N,N-dimethylarginine; D001120:Arginine