The Association Between Coronary Artery Calcification and Subclinical Cerebrovascular Diseases in Men: An Observational Study

Abstract

The official journal of the Japan Atherosclerosis Society and the Asian Pacific Society of Atherosclerosis and Vascular Diseases Original Article Aim: Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is an independent predictor of stroke and dementia, in which subclinical cerebrovascular diseases (SCVDs) play a vital pathogenetic role. However, few studies have described the association between CAC and SCVDs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the clinical relationship between CAC and SCVDs in a healthy Japanese male population. Methods: In this observational study, 709 men, free of stroke, were sampled from a city in Japan from 2010 to 2014. CAC was scored using the Agatston method. The following SCVDs were assessed using magnetic resonance imaging: intracranial arterial stenosis (ICAS), lacunar infarction, deep and subcortical white matter hyperintensity (DSWMH), periventricular hyperintensity (PVH), and microbleeds. The participants were categorized according to CAC scores as follows: no CAC (0), mild CAC (1-100), and moderate-to-severe CAC (100). The adjusted odds ratios of prevalent SCVDs were computed in reference to the no-CAC group using logistic regression. Results: The mean (standard deviation) age of the participants was 68 (8.4) years. Participants in the moderateto-severe-CAC category showed significantly higher odds of prevalent lacunar infarction, DSWMH, and ICAS in age-adjusted and risk-factor-adjusted models. Microbleeds and PVH, in contrast, did not show any significant associations. The trends for CAC with lacunar infarction, DSWMH, and ICAS were also significant (all P-values for trend ≤ 0.02). Conclusions: Higher CAC scores were associated with higher odds of lacunar infarction, DSWMH, and ICAS. The presence and degree of CAC may be a useful indicator for SCVDs involving small and large vessels. dementia 3). Subclinical cerebrovascular diseases (SCVDs), involving both small and large vessels, are likely to play an important role in the pathogenesis of stroke and dementia 4, 5). The speculated mechanism for CAC to predict stroke and dementia is the coexis-Copyright©2020 Japan Atherosclerosis Society This article is distributed under the terms of the latest version of CC BY-NC-SA defined by the Creative Commons Attribution License.

Circulating miRNA-29b and Sclerostin Levels Correlate with Coronary Artery Calcification and Cardiovascular Events in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients

“…Vascular calcification is a common pathological manifestation of atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, vascular injury, chronic kidney disease, and aging [ 57 ]. It is one of the important factors of the high incidence rate and mortality of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases [ 58 ]. The 24-month follow-up data of this study indicated that fewer patients had CVEs, including coronary artery diseases, congestive cardiac failure, cerebrovascular accidents, and peripheral artery occlusion, in the CAC (<100) group compared to the remaining two groups.…”

Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID): A report from the 2018 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Workshop

“…Cerebral or systemic atherosclerosis has been related to MRI evidence of structural brain injury and poorer cognition in many cohort studies of communityliving men and women, across various race and ethnic groups. [103][104][105][106] These effects seem to begin as early as the third and fourth decades of life and the adverse impact of early atherosclerosis on brain structure and function seems even greater than the effect of atherosclerosis later in life, [107][108][109][110][111] may be a more salient risk factor for non-AD pathology than for AD pathology, at least based on evidence from post mortem studies. 135,136 Common co-occurring factors such as obesity, diet, and physical activity also appear to be associated with neurocognitive dysfunction, which further complicates the relationship between T2D and dementia.…”

“…The extent of systemic atherosclerosis tends to be correlated across various arterial beds and can be readily quantified. Cerebral or systemic atherosclerosis has been related to MRI evidence of structural brain injury and poorer cognition in many cohort studies of community‐living men and women, across various race and ethnic groups 103‐106 . These effects seem to begin as early as the third and fourth decades of life and the adverse impact of early atherosclerosis on brain structure and function seems even greater than the effect of atherosclerosis later in life, 107‐111 emphasizing that VCID accrue throughout life; that is, dementia in at least some instances is a life course disease.…”

Arterial Calcification and Its Association With Stroke: Implication of Risk, Prognosis, Treatment Response, and Prevention

“…Subclinical cerebrovascular diseases (SCVDs) play a vital pathogenetic role in stroke ( Oh et al, 2015 ). In 2020, a study ( Khan et al, 2020 ) evaluated the clinical relationship between CAC and SCVDs in a healthy Japanese male population. The research used Agatston method to score CAC and categorized the participants into no CAC (0), mild CAC (1–100), and moderate-to-severe CAC (>100).…”