Lactate dehydrogenase-to albumin ratio (LAR) is associated with early-onset cognitive impairment after acute ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND:Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) is the most prevalent complication of acute ischemic stroke(AIS) in individuals. The lactate dehydrogenase-to albumin ratio (LAR) is a novel indicator that measures systemic inflammation and nutritional status. The purpose of this research was to investigate the connection between the LAR and PSCI. METHODS:Following inclusion criteria, this study recruited 701 AIS patients who were segmented into the PSCI (n = 441) and non-PSCI (n = 260) groups according to the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) within 2 weeks after stroke. The lactate dehydrogenase and albumin levels were measured within 24 h after hospitalization. A binary logistic regression was constructed to examine the association between LAR and PSCI with the LAR divided into tertiles. RESULTS:The PSCI group showed a higher level of LAR in comparison to the non-PSCI group (p < 0.001). Compared with T1 (≦4.93), patients in the highest quartile of LAR (≧5.93) had a greater risk of PSCI after controlling for confounding factors, as demonstrated by logistic regression (odds ratio (OR) = 2.003, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 1.305-3.074, P = 0.001). CONCLUSION:Higher LAR is independently related to the development of cognitive impairment in the early phase after stroke, which may help physicians in the early identification of patients with PSCI.