Prevalence and Risk Factors of Cerebral Microbleeds: An Update of the Rotterdam Scan Study
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: We previously reported on the high prevalence of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) in community-dwelling people aged 60 years and older. Moreover, we found that their spatial distribution likely reflects differences in underlying etiology. We have since almost quadrupled the number of participants in our study and expanded it to include persons of 45 years and older. We examined the prevalence and determinants of microbleeds in this larger and younger cohort from the general population. METHODS: In 3979 persons (mean age, 60.3 years), we performed brain MRI at 1.5T, including a sequence optimized for visualization of CMBs. Associations between APOE genotype, cardiovascular risk factors, and markers of cerebrovascular disease with the presence and location of CMBs were assessed by multiple logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, and relevant confounders. RESULTS: Microbleed prevalence gradually increased with age, from 6.5% in persons aged 45 to 50 years to 35.7% in participants of 80 years and older. Overall, 15.3% of all subjects had at least 1 CMB. Cardiovascular risk factors and presence of lacunar infarcts and white matter lesions were associated with microbleeds in a deep or infratentorial region, whereas APOE ε4 and diastolic blood pressure were related to microbleeds in a strictly lobar location. CONCLUSIONS: Findings in this larger population are in line with our previous results and, more importantly, extend these to a younger age group. CMBs are already present at middle age, and prevalence rises strongly with increasing age. We confirmed that determinants of the presence of cerebral microbleeds differ according to their location in the brain.
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MRI studies detected microbleeds in 17.8% of subjects aged 60-69 years and in 38.3% in subjects who were more than 80 years old.
“MRI studies detected microbleeds in 17.8% of subjects aged 60–69 years and in 38.3% in subjects who were more than 80 years old [51, 52].”
From APOE Genotype Differentially Modulates Effects of Anti-Aβ, Passive Immunization in APP Transgenic Mice (2017) · cites this paper as [51]
Table 2 in the Results gives 16.8% for ages 60–69 and 35.7% for the oldest age group, not 17.8% and 38.3%. The paper supports the age-related increase, but its reported percentages contradict both figures in the claim. (LLM, conf=0.90)
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredEvidence independently supports link of both the APOE ε4 and ε2 allele with increased risk for microhemorrhages in humans.
“Evidence independently supports link of both the APOE ε4 and ε2 allele with increased risk for microhemorrhages in humans [51, 52, 54–57].”
From APOE Genotype Differentially Modulates Effects of Anti-Aβ, Passive Immunization in APP Transgenic Mice (2017) · cites this paper as [51]
The Results report an association between APOE ε4 and strictly lobar microbleeds. They explicitly report no association for ε2 allele carriers at any location, although they found an association for the ε2/ε2 genotype with strictly lobar microbleeds. Thus the paper does not support the claim of increased risk for ε2 carriers generally. (LLM, conf=0.89)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn human subjects prevalence of spontaneous microhemorrhages is high and positively correlates with advancing age.
“In human subjects prevalence of spontaneous microhemorrhages is high and positively correlates with advancing age.”
From APOE Genotype Differentially Modulates Effects of Anti-Aβ, Passive Immunization in APP Transgenic Mice (2017) · cites this paper as [51]
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“3% in subjects who were more than 80 years old [51, 52].”
Background
- Authors
- Poels, M. M. F., Vernooij, M. W., Ikram, M. A., Hofman, A., Krestin, G. P., van der Lugt, A., & Breteler, M. M. B.
- Affiliations
- From the Departments of Epidemiology (M.M.F.P., M.W.V., M.A.I., A.H., M.M.B.B.) and Radiology (M.M.F.P., M.W.V., M.A.I., G.P.K., A.v.d.L.), Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
- Erasmus MC (NL)
- Venue
- Stroke
- Published
- 2010-10
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 10_suppl_1
- Pages
- S103-6
- ISSN
- 0039-2499 (ISSN-L)
- 1524-4628
- OpenAlex
- W2084439196
- Cited by
- 563
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 37 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 45 · 2018: 40 · 2017: 32 · 2016: 55 · 2015: 48 · 2014: 49 · 2013: 38 · 2012: 28
- FWCI
- 16.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Stroke (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- European Commission
- ZonMw
- Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
- Erasmus Medisch Centrum
- Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Intracerebral and Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Cerebrovascular and genetic disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- cerebral microbleeds, prevalence, risk factors, APOE ε4, diastolic blood pressure, cardiovascular risk factors, lacunar infarction, white matter lesions, lobar microbleeds, aging, middle-aged adults
- MeSH terms
- Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Brain, Cerebral Hemorrhage, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Risk, Risk Factors, Cohort Studies, Prevalence
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