Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1
Flow chart of the study selection process. cIMT, carotid intima-media thickness; CMBs, cerebral microbleeds.
- Figure 2
Forest plot for the association between large artery stenosis and CMBs. CMBs, cerebral microbleeds.
- Figure 3
Forest plot for the association between cIMT and CMBs. cIMT, carotid intima-media thickness; CMBs, cerebral microbleeds; SMD, standardised mean difference.
Tables
- Table 1
Characteristics of included Studies
Author Year Study design Population Country Patient number Sex
Men (%)Age, Mean, y CMBs Large artery atherosclerosis Quality
ScoreOther principal findings associated with CMBs MRI Prevalence
n (%)Stenosis>50% n (%) Mean cIMT
mm (mean±SD)Method Definition Ochi 2009 Cross-sectional Outpatients Japan 443 36 67.1 3 T, GRE 22 (5.0%) – CMB(+):0.85±0.14
CMB(−):0.81±0.15B-mode ultrasound Far wall of the CCA 11 items (8) Age, hypertension, baPWV Miwa 2011 Cross-sectional Outpatients, age ≥45 years Japan 431 52 69.3 1.5 T, GRE 65 (15.0%) – CMB(+):1.14±0.5
CMB(−):0.99±0.5Ultrasound Near and far walls, bilateral distal CCA, carotid bifurcation, and ICA 11 items (8) Age, fasting glucose, hsCRP, IL-6, IL-18 Chung 2014 Cross-sectional Acute ischaemic stroke or TIA South Korea 834 58 66.8 3 T, SWI 335 (40.2%) 468 (28.1%) – CTA ICA
Thick or contiguous calcification ≥50% of vessel diameter and/or ≥1 cm11 items (8) Age, hypertension, hs-CRP Peng 2014 Cross-sectional Acute ischaemic stroke China 90 61 66.4 1.5 T, GRE 30 (33.3%) 46 (51.1%) – TCD, CDUS ICA,intracranial and extracranial arteries;
A visible narrowing (>50%)
or significant haemodynamic changes11 items (8) SBP, DBP Song 2015 Cross-sectional Ischaemic stroke Korea 220 60 64.0 1.5 T, GRE 46 (20.9%) 93 (42.3%) – MRA, CTA, DSA Intracranial and extracranial arteries; Stenosis≥50% 11 items (8) Age Tabara 2015 Cross-sectional Healthy middle-aged to elderly individuals Japan 1387 39 67.0 3 T, GRE 92 (6.6%) – CMB(+):0.84±0.14
CMB(−):0.79±0.14B-mode ultrasound Far wall, bilateral carotid arteries 11 items (8) Age, hypertension, T2DM Ding 2015 Prospective Population-based, age >65 Iceland 2512 42 74.6 1.5 T, GRE 463 (18.4%) – CMB(+):0.98±0.14
CMB(−):0.96±0.14B-mode ultrasound Near and far walls, bilateral distal CCA NOS scale (9) Age, DBP, MAP, carotid arterial strain, DC, YEM Romero 2016 Cohort Framingham Offspring Study USA 1243 47 56.9 1.5 T, GRE 101 (8.2%) 20 (1.6%) – CDUS Distal CCA, carotid artery bulb and ICA; Stenosis≥50% NOS scale (9) – baPWV, brachial-to-ankle pulse wave velocity; CCA, common carotid artery; CDUS, carotid duplex ultrasound; cIMT, carotid intima-media thickness; CTA, CT angiography; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; DC, distensibility coefficient; DSA, digital subtraction angiography; GRE, gradient-recalled echo sequences; hsCRP, high-sensitivity C reactive protein; ICA, internal carotid artery; IL, interleukin; MAP, mean arterial pressure; MRA, MR angiography; NOS scale, Newcastle–Ottawa scale; SBP, systolic blood pressure; SWI, susceptibility-weighted imaging; T2DM, type 2 diabetes mellitus; TCD, transcranial Doppler; TIA, transient ischaemic attack; YEM, Young elastic modulus.
- Table 2
ORs of studies included in the meta-analysis
Author Year OR 95% CI Adjustment Chung 2014 4.22 3.19 to 5.59 Unadjusted 2.86 2.01 to 4.08 Age, hypertension, previous stroke history, hs-CRP, total cholesterol, homocysteine and ICA calcification Peng 2014 2.11 0.86 to 5.19 Unadjusted Song 2015 1.06 0.55 to 2.05 Unadjusted Romero 2016 1.38 0.38 to 5.06 Age, sex, time to MRI 1.16 0.30 to 4.49 Age, sex, time to MRI, diabetes, smoking, hypertension, systolic blood pressure, prevalent cardiovascular disease and statin use 1.99 0.48 to 8.27 Age, sex, time to MRI, diabetes, smoking, hypertension, systolic blood pressure, prevalent cardiovascular disease and statin use, baseline carotid IMT hsCRP, high-sensitivity C reactive protein; ICA, internal carotid artery; IMT, intima-media thickness.
