Risk factors for silent cerebral infarction in the elderly

Kotani, Kazuhiko; Osaki, Yoneatsu; Sakane, Naoki; Adachi, Seiji; Ishimaru, Yasutaka

doi:10.1016/j.arcmed.2004.07.003

« Previous Next »Archives of Medical Research
Volume 35, Issue 6 , Pages 522-524, November 2004

Risk factors for silent cerebral infarction in the elderly

Kazuhiko Kotani
- Division of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan
- Division of Internal Medicine, Iwami Municipal Hospital, Tottori, Japan
- Address reprint requests to: Kazuhiko Kotani, MD, PhD. Division of Clinical Laboratory Medicine. Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University. 86 Nishi-cho, Yonago 683-8503 Japan. Tel: +81.859.34.8331. FAX: +81.859.34.8081
Yoneatsu Osaki
- Division of Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan
Naoki Sakane
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Clinical Research Institute, Center for Endocrine and Metabolic Disease, Kyoto National Hospital, Kyoto, Japan
Seiji Adachi
- Department of Medicine, Nawa Public Clinic, Tottori, Japan
Yasutaka Ishimaru
- Department of Medicine, Kano Public Clinic, Yamaguchi, Japan

Received 26 May 2004; accepted 30 July 2004.

(04/109)

Background

A silent cerebral infarction (SCI) is often found in the elderly. However, studies on SCIs focusing on an elderly population are sparse. Our objective was to evaluate risk factors of SCIs in healthy elderly individuals.

Methods

One hundred seventy-five neurologically normal community-dwelling Japanese people aged ≥65 years (128 men and 47 women; 77.5 ± 8.7 years) were studied. Among them we assessed the demographic data and detected SCIs on brain magnetic resonance imaging scans.

Results

Eighty four subjects had at least one SCI. Hypertension and low body mass index (BMI) were the significant risks for SCIs in multivariate analysis adjusted for age, sex and other risk factors. Mean BMI in subjects with SCIs was significantly lower than those without SCIs (20.8 ± 3.2 kg/m² vs. 22.1 ± 3.2 kg/m²). In the subgroup analysis by age stratum regarding hypertension and BMI, hypertension was a significant risk factor in subjects aged 65–75 years. Lower BMI had a significant risk in subjects aged ≥81 years.

Conclusions

Hypertension and increasing age have been recognized as risk factors for SCIs, and low BMI might be a significant risk especially in superelderly subjects. Further data with a larger sample size is needed to confirm the relationship between BMI and SCIs among the elderly.

Key words: Hypertension, Body mass index, Age, Elderly, Silent cerebral infarction