Association of serum albumin to globulin ratio with outcomes in acute ischemic stroke

Abstract

Background: Serum albumin to globulin ratio (A/G) has been widely used as a representative biomarker for assessing inflammation and nutrition status. However, in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), the predictive value of serum A/G has rarely been reported. We aimed to evaluate whether serum A/G is associated with prognosis in stroke. Methods: We analyzed data from the Third China National Stroke Registry. The patients were categorized into quartile groups according to the serum A/G at admission. Clinical outcomes included poor functional outcomes (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score of 3–6 or 2–6) and all-cause mortality at 3 months and1 year. Multivariable logistic regressions and Cox proportional hazards regressions were used to evaluate the association of serum A/G with the risk of poor functional outcomes and all-cause mortality. Results: A total of 11, 298 patients were included in this study. After adjustment for confounding factors, patients in the highest serum A/G quartile had a lower proportion of mRS score 2–6 (odds ratio [OR], 0.87; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.76–1.00) and mRS score 3–6 (OR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.73–1.03) at 3 months follow-up. At 1 year follow-up, there was a significant association between higher serum A/G and mRS score 3–6 (OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.57–0.81). We also found that the highest serum A/G was related to decreased risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.58; 95% CI, 0.36–0.94) at 3 months follow-up. Similar results were found at 1-year follow-up. Conclusions: Lower serum A/G levels were associated with poor functional outcomes and all-cause mortality at 3 months and 1-year follow-up in patients with acute ischemic stroke.