Factors associated with subtype classification and 3-month functional outcome in ischemic stroke, focusing on large-artery atherosclerosis and small-vessel occlusion: A retrospective observational study.

Authors

Do-Yeon Lee, Chae Rin Baik, Seohee Jang, Jin Kwon, Geunwoo Kim, Hyun Goo Kang

Published in

Medicine. Volume 105. Issue 44. Pages e51251. Oct 30, 2026.

Abstract

Ischemic stroke accounts for a rising share of the total stroke burden. This retrospective observational study aimed to identify factors associated with subtype classification and 3-month functional outcome among patients with ischemic stroke, focusing on large-artery atherosclerosis (LAA) and small-vessel occlusion (SVO). This retrospective study included patients with ischemic stroke admitted to a regional tertiary hospital between 2019 and 2021, who were classified using the Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) criteria. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with each subtype (vs all other subtypes) and with an excellent 3-month outcome (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score 0-1) within the LAA and SVO groups. Among 1823 patients, the etiologies were LAA (30.33%), cardioembolism (18.87%), SVO (41.09%), and other stroke types (9.71%). Female sex (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.71; P = .005) was inversely and age (aOR, 1.02 per year; P < .001) positively associated with LAA, whereas dyslipidemia (aOR, 1.81; P < .001) was positively associated, and ischemic heart disease (aOR, 0.54; P = .023) and older age (aOR, 0.68; P < .001) were inversely associated, with SVO. For an excellent 3-month outcome, female sex was associated with lower odds (aOR, 0.54; P = .003) and obesity with higher odds (aOR, 1.59; P = .015) in the LAA group, whereas age (aOR, 0.97 per year; P < .001) and hypertension (aOR, 0.70; P = .033) were associated with lower odds, and obesity with higher odds (aOR, 1.39; P = .044), in the SVO group. After additional adjustment for initial stroke severity, the associations of female sex, obesity, and age persisted, whereas that of hypertension was attenuated; with functional independence (mRS 0-2) as the outcome, age, hypertension, and obesity were no longer significant. The factors associated with subtype classification and with 3-month functional outcome differ between ischemic stroke subtypes. Because only patients with ischemic stroke were included and the primary outcome models were not adjusted for initial stroke severity, these results are hypothesis-generating and may inform subtype-specific strategies in stroke management and future research.

PMID:
43012806
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 11 Nov 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.