Association of intracranial atherosclerosis with cerebral small vessel disease in a community‐based population

Abstract Background and purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between intracranial atherosclerosis and cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). Methods Community‐dwelling residents of Lishui, China in the PRECISE (Polyvascular Evaluation for Cognitive Impairment and Vascular Events) study were involved. Intracranial atherosclerosis was grouped by the severity of intracranial artery plaques with stenosis and burden. Four imaging markers including lacunes, white matter hyperintensity (WMH), cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), and perivascular spaces (PVS) as well as the CSVD burden scores were assessed. Logistic regression or ordinal logistic regression models with odds ratio (OR) or common OR (cOR) were used to estimate the relationship between intracranial atherosclerosis and CSVD markers and burdens. Results The mean age was 61.20 ± 6.68 years, and 1424 (46.52%) were men among 3061 participants included at baseline. Intracranial atherosclerotic burden was associated with the severity of the lacunes (OR = 4.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.83–9.58), modified WMH burden (cOR = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.01–3.71), presence of CMBs (OR = 2.28, 95% CI = 1.05–4.94), and CMB burden (OR = 2.23, 95% CI = 1.03–4.80). However, it was not associated with the WMH burden and PVS. Intracranial atherosclerotic burden was associated with CSVD burden (Wardlaw: cOR = 2.73, 95% CI = 1.48–5.05; Rothwell: cOR = 2.70, 95% CI = 1.47–4.95). The association between intracranial atherosclerosis and CSVD was obvious in participants with both anterior and posterior circulation artery stenosis. Conclusions Based on a Chinese community population, there may be an association between intracranial atherosclerosis and CSVD, but its mechanism in relation to vascular risk factors still needs to be clarified.