PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - M.M.B. Breteler
AU  - J. C. van Swieten
AU  - M. L. Bots
AU  - D. E. Grobbee
AU  - J. J. Claus
AU  - J. H.W. van den Hout
AU  - F. van Harskamp
AU  - H. L.J. Tanghe
AU  - P. T.V.M. de Jong
AU  - J. van Gijn
AU  - A. Hofman
TI  - Cerebral white matter lesions, vascular risk factors, and cognitive function in a population‐based study
AID  - 10.1212/WNL.44.7.1246
DP  - 1994 Jul 01
TA  - Neurology
PG  - 1246--1246
VI  - 44
IP  - 7
4099  - http://n.neurology.org/content/44/7/1246.short
4100  - http://n.neurology.org/content/44/7/1246.full
SO  - Neurology1994 Jul 01; 44
AB  - Cerebral white matter lesions are a common finding on MRI in elderly persons. We studied the prevalence of white matter lesions and their relation with classic cardiovascular risk factors, thrombogenic factors, and cognitive function in an age- and gender-stratified random sample from the general population that consisted of 111 subjects 65 to 84 years of age. Overall, 27% of subjects had white matter lesions. The prevalence and severity of lesions increased with age. A history of stroke or myocardial infarction, factor VIIc activity, and fibrinogen level were each significantly and independently associated with the presence of white matter lesions. Significant relations with blood pressure level, hypertension, and plasma cholesterol were present only for subjects aged 65 to 74 years. White matter lesions tended to be associated with lower scores on tests of cognitive function and were significantly associated with subjective mental decline. This study suggests that classic cardiovascular risk factors, as well as thrombogenic factors, are associated with white matter lesions in subjects over 65 years of age in the general population, and that these lesions may be related to cognitive function.