Abstract
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been associated with silent brain lesions; however, there are no data on the relationship between MetS and the incidence of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) in Asian populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the longitudinal association between MetS and incidence of CMBs in the Japanese population. We performed a prospective cohort study involving 684 Japanese participants (mean age, 61.7 years) with a mean 6.5 ± 3.4 years follow-up. All participants underwent 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging, and CMBs were classified by their locations. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship of MetS and its components with the incidence of CMBs. MetS was observed in 7.5% of the study population. Forty-nine (7.2%) subjects (36 had new deep or infratentorial CMBs, 13 had new strictly lobar CMBs) developed new CMBs during the follow-up period. In multivariable analysis, MetS was significantly associated with the incidence of deep or infratentorial CMBs (odds ratio, 4.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.72–9.41), and the elevated blood pressure component was most robustly associated with the incidence of deep or infratentorial CMBs (odds ratio, 5.16; 95% confidence interval, 2.02–13.2). Increased body mass index was also associated with incidence of deep or infratentorial CMBs (odds ratio, 2.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.06–5.67). The present study showed that MetS predicts incidence of CMBs in the deep brain regions and high blood pressure is the most important among the MetS components.
Highlights
Metabolic syndrome (MetS), defined as a complex of modifiable vascular risk factors including central obesity, dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, and impaired glucose tolerance, has been reported to predict higher cardiovascular mortality [1]
In our prospective cohort study with Japanese participants, we found that the presence of MetS was associated with a 4.03 times increased risk of deep or infratentorial cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) after adjusting for confounding factors
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to show the association of MetS with the incidence of CMBs in an Asian population
Summary
Metabolic syndrome (MetS), defined as a complex of modifiable vascular risk factors including central obesity, dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, and impaired glucose tolerance, has been reported to predict higher cardiovascular mortality [1]. Previous epidemiological and clinical studies have indicated that MetS is highly correlated to the occurrence [2, 3] and recurrence [4] of stroke. CMBs are generally asymptomatic, but are strong predictive factors of future recurrent hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke [7]. The clinical implications of CMBs have led to concerns about identifying its risk factors, as far as we are aware, no study has examined the link between MetS and the incidence of CMBs in an Asian population. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of MetS and its individual components on the incidence of CMBs in Japanese participants
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