title: Association of arterial stiffness with silent cerebrovascular lesions: the Ohasama study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Arterial stiffness is a risk factor for symptomatic stroke, and is associated with symptomatic cerebral infarction and cognitive impairment. Hence, we hypothesized that arterial stiffness would be a significant determinant of silent cerebrovascular lesions.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects were 363 individuals without symptomatic cerebrovascular lesions who had their arterial stiffness assessed by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) measurement. The subjects were classified into two groups by the presence or absence of lacunar infarcts, as well as into three groups by grade of white matter hyperintensity (WMH). baPWV was compared among these groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighty-six subjects had lacunar infarcts. Of 138 subjects with WMHs, 102 were classified as having grade 1 and 36 as having grade 2 or 3 WMHs. baPWV was significantly higher in subjects with lacunar infarcts than in those without (17.3 ± 0.3 vs. 16.4 ± 0.2 m/s). baPWV tended to increase with higher WMH grade (16.2 ± 0.2, 16.9 ± 0.3, and 17.8 ± 0.5 m/s in grade 0, 1, and 2 or 3, respectively) after adjustments for confounding factors. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for lacunar infarcts in subjects with middle-tertile baPWV was significantly higher (OR, 2.37; 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.10-5.11) and the OR in subjects with the highest-tertile baPWV tended to be higher (OR 2.26; 95% CI 0.99-5.45) compared with the lowest-tertile baPWV. The adjusted OR for WMH tended to increase with increased baPWV.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Arterial stiffness appeared to be associated with the presence of a lacunar infarct and WMH, independently of the risks for other cerebrovascular diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Medicine, Sendai, Japan. rieko@idac.tohoku.ac.jp
authors.forename: Rieko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hatanaka
authors.forename: Taku
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Obara
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Watabe
authors.forename: Tomofumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Takeo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishikura
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aikawa
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Aono
authors.forename: Azusa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Hirohito
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Metoki
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asayama
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kikuya
authors.forename: Nariyasu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mano
authors.forename: Takayoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohkubo
authors.forename: Shin-Ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Imai
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D055109:Ankle Brachial Index; D001158:Arteries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases; D001794:Blood Pressure; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003187:Compliance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D058729:Peripheral Arterial Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011673:Pulsatile Flow; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index