Meta-analysis of risk factors of cerebral microbleeds

Purpose:There are many genetic,controllable and uncontrollable risk factors which involve in the aetiology of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs).The aim of this present study was to explore the association between CMBs and its risk factors. Methods: Databases including Pubmed,Cochrane library and Embase were retrieved to collect prospective cohort studies and retrospective case-control studies related to the risk factors for CMBs. After extracting data and appraising the quality of the included studies,meta-analysis were conducted using Stata V.12.0. Results: 494 articles were identified of which 51 articles met the inclusion criteria for meta-analysis. In our meta-analysis,we found grade 1A evidence (pooled population >6000, I2 6000, I2 6000, I2>50%) for five factors (BMI,systolic pressure, age, hypertension, statins) increase risk of developing CMBs.we found grade 3 evidence (pooled population 50%) for four factors (leukoaraiosis, lacunar infarction, C-reactionprotein, glomerular filtration rate) increase risk of developing CMBs. Conclusion: Blood pressure, past disease,gender, age, smoking and some biochemical indicators affect the occurrence of CMBs more or less. Funding: This work was supported by Grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81400957). Declaration of Interest: None declared.