An Analysis of Risk Factors for Asymptomatic Cerebral Infarction

Objective The aim of this study is to identify risk factors for asymptomatic cerebral infarction (ACI) in the general Japanese population. Materials and Methods A total of 634 subjects (272 men aged 55.4±8.8 years and 362 women aged 55.2±8.5 years) who visited the Health Management Center at Aoyama Hospital (Tokyo, Japan) from January 2004 through January 2005 for an annual brain dry dock examination were analyzed. We evaluated 21 risk factors for ACI by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results Abnormal or potentially abnormal conditions were detected in 258 subjects (40.7% of all subjects who had an annual check-up program for brain disease). The most frequent abnormal finding was ACI, which was observed in 208 subjects. The significant risk factors for ACI, as determined by multivariate logistic analysis, were age (P <0.01), hypertension (P <0.01), and hypertensive vascular changes in the fundus (P <0.05). Conclusion The hypertensive vascular abnormalities in the fundus might be a risk factor for ACI independent of age and hypertension.