Relationship between Metabolic Syndrome and Intracranial Atherosclerosis According to Age

Background: Although metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with intracranial large artery disease (IC-LAD), no systematic study has been conducted according to patient age. Thus, we evaluated the association between MetS and IC-LAD according to age. Methods: Acute ischemic stroke patients over 40 years of age with IC-LAD confirmed by CT angiography were enrolled. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to age, with 65 as the cut-off point. Vascular risk factors and laboratory results were compared between the two groups, and multivariate analysis was performed to verify the independent factors associated with IC-LAD. Results: One hundred and sixty-one patients had IC-LAD. The older patients (>65 years) had higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) (P=0.041) and triglyceride (TG) (P=0.0146). In the older group, there was a high prevalence of women (P=0.0006), nonsmokers (P=0.0001) and multiple (≥2) numbers of IC-LADs (P=0.0094). In the multiple logistic regression analysis for each component of MetS as a risk factor of IC-LAD, diabetes mellitus (DM) (P=0.0407) and high TG (≥150) (P=0.018) were significantly correlated with IC-LAD in the older group. Conclusion: High SBP and TG are predominantly observed in elderly patients. In particular, the older group has a high prevalence of women, nonsmoker and multiple IC-LADs (≥2). Among the components of MetS, DM and high TG are important risk factor for IC-LAD in the older group. J Neurocrit Care 2013;6:87-91