Analysis of the risk factors for affecting the severity of cerebral microbleeds

Objective To investigate the risk factors for affecting the severity of cerebral microbleeds(CMBs).Methods A total of 200 consecutive patients with CMBs confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) susceptibity weighted imaging(SWI) at General Hospital of Beijing Military Command from August 2011 to March 2013 were enrolled.According to the number of CMBs on SWI,they were divided into three groups: a mild group(1 to 5 CMBs;n = 111),a moderate group(6 to15 CMBs;n = 86),and a severe group(≥15 CMBs;n = 30).The risk factors for affecting the severity of CMBs were analyzed.Results ①Univariate analysis showed that there were no significant differences in gender,age,diabetes,history of atrial fibrillation,hypertension,carotid atherosclerosis,coagulopathy,and antiplatelet aggregation therapy among the three groups(P 0.05).The severity of CMBs increased with the number of lacunar infarction and severity of leukoaraiosis,and the cerebral hemorrhage rate also increased with severity of CMBs.There were statistically significant among the 3 groups(P 0.05).Compared with the mild group after combining the moderate and severe groups,there were still statistically significant(P 0.05).②Spearman correlation analysis showed that the severity of CMBs was positively correlated with the number of lacunar infarction(r = 0.392;P 0.01) and the severity of leukoaraiosis(r = 0.362;P 0.01).③ After combining the moderate and severe groups,multivariate logistic regression analysis showed the number of lacunar infarction(OR = 4.259,95% CI: 3.064 to 5.620;P = 0.001),severity of leukoaraiosis(OR = 3.250,95% CI: 2.351 to 4.665,P = 0.003) were the independent risk factors for affecting the severity of CMBs.The severity of CMBs was positively correlated with cerebral hemorrhage(OR = 1.813,95% CI: 1.788 to 2.581;P = 0.029).Conclusion The severity of leukoaraiosis,the number of lacunar infarction and cerebral hemorrhage are closely associated with the severity of CMBs.