Evolocumab intensive lipid-lowering therapy on prognosis of post-cerebral infarction depression

Table 1 Baseline characteristics after propensity score matching, n (%)/mean ± SD

Characteristic	Intensive group (n = 72)	Standard group (n = 72)	P value
Demographics
Age (years)	63.8 ± 9.6	64.5 ± 10.1	0.658
Female gender	34 (47.2)	32 (44.4)	0.733
College education or above	23 (31.9)	21 (29.2)	0.716
Stroke characteristics
NIHSS score at admission	7.5 ± 2.3	7.3 ± 2.1	0.584
Anterior circulation infarction	42 (58.3)	40 (55.6)	0.730
Time from stroke to enrollment (days)	14.2 ± 3.8	13.9 ± 3.6	0.621
Vascular risk factors
Hypertension	48 (66.7)	46 (63.9)	0.721
Type 2 diabetes mellitus	21 (29.2)	20 (27.8)	0.848
Atrial fibrillation	9 (12.5)	8 (11.1)	0.797
Current smoking	23 (31.9)	21 (29.2)	0.716
Baseline depression and anxiety assessment
HAMD-17 total score	20.6 ± 4.8	20.1 ± 4.5	0.510
HAMA total score	17.8 ± 4.0	17.3 ± 3.8	0.436
Severe depression (HAMD-17 ≥ 24)	18 (25.0)	17 (23.6)	0.845
Baseline cognitive and functional status
MoCA score	21.8 ± 3.4	21.5 ± 3.2	0.581
Barthel Index	62.8 ± 17.5	63.4 ± 16.9	0.831
Modified Rankin Scale (median, IQR)	3 (2-3)	3 (2-3)	0.763
Baseline biomarkers
LDL-C (mmol/L)	3.12 ± 0.68	3.05 ± 0.65	0.523
PCSK9 (ng/mL)	392.4 ± 81.6	386.8 ± 78.3	0.667
IL-6 (pg/mL)	9.7 ± 2.3	9.5 ± 2.1	0.594
TNF-α (pg/mL)	18.4 ± 3.6	18.1 ± 3.4	0.616
hs-CRP (mg/L)	6.2 ± 1.8	6.0 ± 1.7	0.523
BDNF (ng/mL)	14.2 ± 3.5	14.5 ± 3.3	0.611

NIHSS: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale; HAMD-17: 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; HAMA: Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale; MoCA: Montreal Cognitive Assessment; IQR: Interquartile range; LDL-C: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; PCSK9: Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9; IL-6: Interleukin-6; TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha; hs-CRP: High-sensitivity C-reactive protein; BDNF: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor.