Higher Prevalence of Vascular Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Lacunar Stroke

Pavankumar Kamat

Disclosures

January 12, 2022

Takeaway

  • The prevalence of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) was higher in patients with lacunar stroke.

Why this matters

  • Findings suggest that patients with lacunar stroke should be evaluated using an appropriate cognitive screening tool, such as the Brief Memory and Executive Test (BMET).

Study design

  • A case-control study included 912 patients with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-confirmed lacunar stroke who were recruited in the ongoing DNA 2 Lacunar study (2016-2021) and were matched to 425 control participants.

  • Funding: A British Heart Foundation program grant.

Key results

  • The prevalence of VCI (BMET score of ≤13) was higher in patients with lacunar stroke vs control participants (38.8% vs 13.4%; P < 0.0001).

  • After adjustment for confounders, the risk of VCI increased with (adjusted OR [aOR]; 95% CI):

    • diabetes mellitus (1.975; 1.395 to 2.796; P < 0.001); and

    • higher BMI (1.027; 1.003 to 1.053; P = 0.029).

  • The years of full-time education were linked to a lower risk of VCI (aOR, 0.921; 95% CI, 0.861-0.986; P = .018).

  • In binary logistic regression models, lacune count (aOR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.20; P = 0.001) and WMH (aOR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.31 to 1.78; P < 0.001) were associated with a higher risk of VCI.

Limitations

  • Premorbid cognitive performance of participants was not known.

Ohlmeier L, Nannoni S, Pallucca C, Brown RB, Loubiere L, Markus HS. Prevalence of, and risk factors for, cognitive impairment in lacunar stroke. Int J Stroke. 2022 Jan 05 [Epub ahead of print]:17474930211064965. doi: 10.1177/17474930211064965. PMID: 34983273 View Full Text.

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