Background and purpose: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with an increased risk of the subsequent development of cardiovascular disease or stroke. Moreover, a silent brain infarction (SBI) can predict clinical overt stroke or dementia. We examined the associations between SBI and MetS in apparently healthy individuals.
Methods: We evaluated 1588 neurologically healthy subjects (927 males and 661 females) who underwent brain MRI at Seoul National University Hospital Healthcare System Gangnam Center. MetS was defined using the criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III. We examined associations between full syndrome (> or =3 of the 5 conditions) as well as its components and SBI by controlling possible confounders.
Results: Eighty-eight (5.5%) were found to have > or =1 SBI on MRI. Age was found to be significantly related to SBI prevalence (odds ratio [OR], 1.06; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.09). A history of coronary artery disease was associated with an elevated odds ratio of SBI (OR, 2.83; 95% CI, 1.38 to 5.82), and MetS was significantly associated with SBI (OR, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.38 to 3.44). The components model of MetS showed a strong significance between an elevated blood pressure (OR, 3.75; 95% CI, 2.05 to 6.85) and an impaired fasting glucose (OR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.08 to 2.80) and the risk of SBI.
Conclusions: MetS was found to be significantly associated with SBI. This finding has clinical utility in terms of identifying healthy people at increased risk of developing SBI.