Association of vascular risk factors and the presence of microinfarcts in the deep gray matter on 7T MR imaginga
| Patients with Microinfarcts in the Deep Gray Matter (n = 28) | Patients without Microinfarcts in the Deep Gray Matter (n = 185) | All Patients (n = 213) | Microinfarct (Presence vs Absence) RR (95% CI)b | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (yr) | 70 (SD, 7) | 64 (SD, 9) | 64 (SD, 9) | 1.05 (1.02–1.08)c,d |
| Sex (% men) | 85.7 | 82.2 | 82.6 | 0.78 (0.30–2.02)e |
| History of stroke (%) | 50.0 | 23.2 | 26.8 | 2.88 (1.24–6.67)d |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 28 (SD, 4) | 27 (SD, 4) | 27 (SD, 4) | 1.20 (0.87–1.65) |
| Smoking (pack-years)f | 27 (0, 56) | 20 (0, 47) | 22 (0, 49) | 1.11 (0.87–1.42) |
| Alcohol intake | ||||
| No or <1 U/week (%) | 22.2 | 26.5 | 25.9 | 1 (reference) |
| 1–10 U/week (%) | 59.3 | 41.1 | 43.4 | 1.55 (0.67–3.61) |
| ≥11 U/week (%) | 18.5 | 32.4 | 30.7 | 0.65 (0.22–1.98) |
| Hypertension (%) | 96.4 | 72.4 | 75.6 | 3.16 (1.30–7.65)d |
| Diabetes mellitus (%) | 14.3 | 16.2 | 16.0 | 0.85 (0.32–2.21) |
| Carotid stenosis ≥50% (%) | 17.9 | 7.6 | 8.9 | 1.39 (0.70–2.75) |
| Hypercholesterolemia (%) | 77.8 | 86.4 | 85.3 | 1.33 (0.86–2.05) |
| IMT (mm) | 1.0 (SD, 0.3) | 0.8 (SD, 0.2) | 0.9 (SD, 0.2) | 1.29 (1.04–1.61)d |
| ABI | 1.1 (SD, 0.2) | 1.1 (SD, 0.1) | 1.1 (SD, 0.2) | 0.86 (0.67–1.11) |
| Homocysteine (µmol/l) | 13.0 (SD, 5.2) | 12.5 (SD, 4.3) | 12.5 (SD, 4.4) | 1.07 (0.40–2.82) |
| APOB (g/L) | 0.8 (SD, 0.2) | 0.8 (SD, 0.2) | 0.8 (SD, 0.2) | 0.84 (0.58–1.23) |
| Metabolic syndrome | 60.7 | 51.4 | 52.6 | 1.47 (0.74–2.91) |
| ≥1 APOE ε4 allele (%) | 35.7 | 28.1 | 29.1 | 1.58 (0.79–3.20) |
Note:—BMI indicates body mass index; IMT, intima-media thickness; ABI, ankle brachial index; APOB, apolipoprotein B; APOE, apolipoprotein E
↵a Characteristics are presented as mean (SD) or percentage. RR represents the relative risk for microinfarcts in the presence of a risk factor (in case of a dichotomous variable) or for 1 SD increase in the risk factor (in case of a continuous variable).
↵b Log-binomial regression with adjustment for age.
↵c Per year increase.
↵d P < .05.
↵e Men versus women.
↵f Median (10th percentile, 90th percentile). Natural log-transformed due to a non-normal distribution in the analysis.