LAUSR

Objective: To explore the role of WMH in progression of CSVD in an urban community in China over a period of 7 years, and to investigate associations between WMH volume (baseline & progression) and cognitive impairment. Methods: CSVD markers and neuropsychological tests at baseline and follow-up of 191 participants of the Shanghai Aging Study (SAS) were assessed. WMH volume were assessed by automatic segmentation based on U-net model. Lacunes, cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) and enlarged perivascular spaces (ePVS) were rated manually. SVD score was rated as the total burden of CSVD markers. We performed multivariate linear regression and binominal logistic regression. We plotted progression of markers by baseline WMH volume in tertile. Results: Participants with higher baseline WMH volume developed more progression of WMH volume, increased risk of incident lacunes, incident CMBs, and ePVS progression. Mean change of WMH volume over 7 years was 4.27mL (0.62mL/y) for all participants, 3.21mL for participants with 1st tertile WMH volume at baseline, 4.19mL for those with 2nd tertile WMH, and 5.43mL for those with 3rd tertile WMH. Incident lacunes and incident CMBs were predominantly seen in participants with 2nd and 3rd tertile WMH. WMH (baseline & progression) were associated with decline of executive function. Conclusions: WMH play a pivotal role in progression of cerebral small vessel disease and are associated with decline of executive function in a Chinese urban community study over a period of 7 years.