Cognitive Decline in Patients with Leukoaraiosis Within 5 Years after Initial Stroke

Background Leukoaraiosis (LA) is closely associated with cognitive deficits. The association between LA and cognitive disorders, such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, after initial stroke has not been systematically studied. In this study, we sought to identify whether LA contributes to the occurrence of certain type of cognitive disorders after initial stroke. Methods Data from our Stroke Registry were examined, and 5-year follow-up data for LA and cognitive disorders were analyzed. We performed Kaplan–Meier analysis and log-rank test to assess the predictive value of LA for risk of cognitive decline and the Cox proportional hazards model to test the risk factors studied as independent determinants of cognitive impairment. Results The frequency of patients with normal cognitive function decreased significantly at 5 years compared with initial stroke (78% vs 70%; odds ratio, 1.51; 95% confidence interval, 1.41-1.62). Of 8784 patients, 1659 (19%) had dementia and 964 (11%) had MCI at the final analysis. After 5 years of follow-up, survival analysis showed that all patients with LA had an increased probability of MCI compared with those without LA ( P