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Updated: Sep 26, 2026

Using Retinal Imaging to Study Dementia
Published on: November 6, 2017
Extracerebral microvascular burden links to dementia risk and brain structural changes: Evidence from a large-scale
Jialin Li1,2, Yingzhe Wang3, Chunyu Yin4
1Human Phenome Institute Research and Innovation Center Zhangjiang Fudan International Innovation Center Shanghai Pudong Hospital Fudan University Shanghai China.
Introduction:
The contribution of extracerebral microvascular disease (MVD) burden to dementia risk remains unclear.
Methods:
Among 484,896 UK Biobank participants (median follow-up 8.5 years), baseline extracerebral MVD (retinopathy, nephropathy, peripheral neuropathy) and incident dementia were identified via hospital records. Aging-related brain changes were evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) -derived volumes and white matter integrity.
Results:
MVD was 2.6 times more prevalent among participants who developed dementia than dementia-free individuals (8.0% vs 3.1%) and ranked second among vascular comorbidities after coronary artery disease. Each additional MVD burden was associated with a higher dementia risk, comparable to coronary artery disease (hazard ratio = 1.69 vs. 1.72). Earlier onset conferred stronger risk, and coexisting vascular diseases further amplified associations (p-trend < 0.001). MVD burden was also associated with global brain atrophy and reduced white matter integrity.
Discussion:
Extracerebral MVD burden is associated with dementia risks and brain imaging changes, supporting integrated vascular risk stratification and management for dementia.
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