Associations Between Neuroanatomic Patterns of Cerebral Infarctions and Vascular Dementia

Objective:A history of multiple cerebral infarctions is generally regarded as an important risk factor for vascular dementia. The authors examined the risk of vascular dementia in patients with multiple acute ischemic lesions.Methods:The authors conducted a hospital-based prospective study of 11,200 patients with first-time stroke who underwent 1.5 or 3-T MRI and a global cognitive assessment. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses estimated the risk of dementia associated with multiple lesions versus a single lesion.Results:Having multiple lesions, compared with having a single lesion, was significantly associated with dementia in patients with stroke (odds ratio=5.83, 95% CI=5.08, 6.70; p