Aims: Omentin-1 was proved to be associated with ischemic stroke clinical functional outcome. It also predicted carotid atherosclerosis among metabolic syndrome subjects and type 2 diabetes patients. Our aim was to examine the association of omentin-1 levels with carotid plaque instability and stenosis degree among ischemic stroke patients. Methods: A total of 173 acute ischemic stroke patients were included in this study. Serum omentin-1 levels were assayed. Carotid ultrasound examinations were performed to evaluate the carotid plaque instability and stenosis degree. Multivariable logistic analyses were used to examine the association of serum omentin-1 levels with carotid plaque instability and stenosis degree. Results: Ischemic stroke patients with unstable carotid plaque had significantly lower levels of serum omentin-1 than patients with stable plaque (53 [40.2–64.1] vs 61.8 [52.4–77.2] ng/ml, P＜0.01). Subjects in the highest tertile of serum omentin-1 levels had a 0.31-fold risk of having unstable plaque compared with those in the lowest tertile (P＜0.05), and its trend test was significant (P for trend=0.03). The integrated discrimination improvement was significantly improved in predicting carotid plaque instability when omentin-1 data was added to the multivariable logistic regression model. No significant association was detected between omentin-1 and moderate–severe carotid stenosis or occlusion. Conclusions: Among ischemic stroke patients, higher omentin-1 levels were inversely associated with carotid plaque instability, but not associated with moderate–severe carotid stenosis or occlusion. Omentin-1 may represent a biomarker for predicting carotid plaque instability of acute ischemic stroke patients.

Background: Recent studies have suggested that omentin-1 plays a critical role in the development of cardiovascular disease. However, reported findings are inconsistent, and no study has evaluated the association between omentin-1 levels and a poor functional outcome after ischemic stroke onset. Methods: A total of 266 acute ischemic stroke patients were included in this study. All patients were prospectively followed up for 3 months after acute ischemic stroke onset and a poor functional outcome was defined as a major disability or death occurring during the follow-up period. A multivariable logistic model was used to evaluate the association between serum omentin-1 levels and the functional outcome of ischemic stroke patients at 3 months. Results: Ischemic stroke patients with poor functional outcome had significantly lower levels of serum omentin-1 than patients without poor functional outcome at the 3-month follow-up (50.2 [40.2–59.8] vs. 58.3 [44.9–69.6] ng/mL, p<0.01). Subjects in the highest tertile of serum omentin-1 levels had a 0.38-fold risk of having poor functional outcome, compared with those in the lowest tertile (p<0.05). A negative association between omentin-1 levels and poor functional outcome was found (p for trend=0.02). The net reclassification index was significantly improved in predicting poor functional outcome when omentin-1 data was added to the multivariable logistic regression model. Conclusions: Higher omentin-1 levels at baseline were negatively associated with poor functional outcome among ischemic stroke patients. Omentin-1 may represent a biomarker for predicting poor functional outcome of acute ischemic stroke patients.