Association of Serum Fatty Acids at Admission with the Age of Onset of Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Dietary triglycerides influence the serum concentrations of fatty acids (FA) and their weight percentages (wt%), which might be associated with the age of onset of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We investigated the correlation between serum FA levels and proportions at admission, and the age at onset of ICH. We included patients admitted between 2016 and 2019 within 24 h of the onset of ICH, and calculated the correlation coefficients between their age, serum FA concentration, and FA wt%. We performed multiple linear regression analysis to identify individual FAs related to the age at onset of ICH. Furthermore, we estimated the threshold values of FAs that were independently associated with the age at onset of ICH <65 years, using receiver operating characteristic curves by logistic regression. Our inclusion criteria were met by 141 patients (mean age, 67 years). The concentration of dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA) and the wt% of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) were significant independent variables for the age at onset of ICH. The ROC curves for the age of onset <65 years were ≥108.6 µmol/L for DGLA and ≤1.7% for EPA. Increased DGLA concentration and decreased EPA wt% were significantly associated with young-onset ICH.

Keywords: acute ischemic stroke; admission; age of onset; dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid; docosahexaenoic acid; serum fatty acids.