Increased plasma homocysteine is an independent predictor of new atherothrombotic brain infarction in older persons.

A prospective study investigated the association of plasma homocysteine and other risk factors with the incidence of atherothrombotic brain infarction (ABI) at 31 +/- 9 month follow-up in 153 men and 347 women (mean age 81 +/- 9 years, median age 82). The stepwise Cox regression model showed that significant independent predictors of new ABI in older persons were age (risk ratio 1.060 for each 1-year increase of age), plasma homocysteine (risk ratio 1.079 for each 1 micromol/L increase), prior ABI infarction (risk ratio 3.282), current cigarette smoking (risk ratio 2.687), hypertension (risk ratio 2.965), and diabetes mellitus (risk ratio 2.015).