Metabolic syndrome as an independent risk factor of silent brain infarction in healthy people.
OBJECTIVE
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with an increased risk of the subsequent development of cardiovascular disease or stroke. Moreover, a silent brain infarction (SBI) can predict clinical overt stroke or dementia. We examined the associations between SBI and MetS in apparently healthy individuals.


METHODS
We evaluated 1588 neurologically healthy subjects (927 males and 661 females) who underwent brain MRI at Seoul National University Hospital Healthcare System Gangnam Center. MetS was defined using the criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III. We examined associations between full syndrome (> or =3 of the 5 conditions) as well as its components and SBI by controlling possible confounders.


RESULTS
Eighty-eight (5.5%) were found to have > or =1 SBI on MRI. Age was found to be significantly related to SBI prevalence (odds ratio [OR], 1.06; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.09). A history of coronary artery disease was associated with an elevated odds ratio of SBI (OR, 2.83; 95% CI, 1.38 to 5.82), and MetS was significantly associated with SBI (OR, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.38 to 3.44). The components model of MetS showed a strong significance between an elevated blood pressure (OR, 3.75; 95% CI, 2.05 to 6.85) and an impaired fasting glucose (OR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.08 to 2.80) and the risk of SBI.


CONCLUSIONS
MetS was found to be significantly associated with SBI. This finding has clinical utility in terms of identifying healthy people at increased risk of developing SBI.
Kwon
Hyung-Min
HM
Department of Neurology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul 110-744, Korea.
Kim
Beom Joon
BJ
Lee
Seung-Hoon
SH
Choi
Seung Ho
SH
Oh
Byung-Hee
BH
Yoon
Byung-Woo
BW
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D020520:Brain Infarction / Q000473:pathology*; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000096:biosynthesis; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000473:pathology
D002097:C-Reactive Protein