Association between hemoglobin A1C levels and clinical outcome in ischemic stroke patients with or without diabetes

A total of 1351 patients without diabetes and 526 with diabetes were included. The risk of mortality and poor outcome showed a tendency to increase with increasing HbA1C tercile in both groups. Rates of mortality and poor outcome were significantly higher in the third tercile than in the first tercile. In contrast, rates of mortality and poor outcome in the second tercile were not significantly different from those in the first tercile. The adjusted odds ratios of poor outcome and mortality increased with increasing tercile of HbA1C both in patients with diabetes and in patients without diabetes, and these relationships were independent of other confounders. Kaplan-Meier estimates of cumulative mortality also increased with increasing HbA1C in both groups of patients (with diabetes, p = 0.034; without diabetes, p = 0.025). Our results suggest that elevated HbA1C is associated with risk of poor outcome and mortality in ischemic stroke patients with or without diabetes.