Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40021135›Full record

ArticleJournal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.)2025

Modulatory Effects of Hypertension on Aging-Related White Matter Hyperintensities: A Comparative Study Among Stroke Patients and Stroke-Free Community-Based Cohort.

Joseph A Ackah, Du Heng, Xuelong Li, Lu Zheng, Jason Tsz Lok Chan, Michael Lung Cheung Lo, Jun Hu, Xiangyan Chen

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Joseph A AckahDepartment of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.ORCID 0009-0005-7765-1973
Du HengDepartment of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Xuelong LiDepartment of Neurology, Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Lu ZhengDepartment of Neurology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Jason Tsz Lok ChanDepartment of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Michael Lung Cheung LoDepartment of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Jun HuDepartment of Neurology, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Xiangyan ChenDepartment of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Funding

Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation project 52(JCYJ20220818102810022)The Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation project (2022), Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, China
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The increased vulnerability of the aging human brain to hypertension-induced neurovascular impairments, including cerebral small vessel diseases (SVD), marked by MRI-visible white matter hyperintensities (WMH), is well recognized. We examined WMH burdens between stroke patients and stroke-free participants across three age groups and explored patterns of modifiable risk factors, specifically the modulating effects of hypertension on WMH burden, providing insights for potential therapeutic interventions. This study comprised one hospital-based cohort of 254 stroke patients and another community-based cohort of 254 stroke-free normative participants. Clinical variables were obtained consecutively, and MRI neuroimaging classified WMH as absent, mild, moderate, or severe. A step-by-step statistical analysis was performed to explore the said gaps. There were 508 participants (mean age 63.5 ± 8.9 years) with 285 males. A similar prevalence but different WMH burden was recorded between stroke and normative cohorts across different age groups. The modulating effect of hypertension on WMH severity varied across age groups and is greater in middle-aged adults; intriguingly, this effect diminished in elderly adults (b = -0.882, 95%CI [-1.591, -0.172], t = -2.442, p = 0.015). It was shown that, in a non-uniform fashion across different age groups, hypertension is a culprit risk factor for exacerbating WMH severity, and middle-aged adults are the most vulnerable. While the elevation of systolic blood pressure predisposes adults to brain white matter deterioration, the decline in diastolic blood pressure suggests a protective role. Recognizing hypertension as a modifiable risk factor and understanding the aging-related changes in blood pressure patterns open avenues for developing age-specific strategies for the mitigation and management of WMH progression.

Indexed as

AgingHypertensionStrokeWhite MatterAgedAge FactorsBrainCerebral Small Vessel DiseasesCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedNeuroimagingPrevalenceagingcerebral small vessel diseaseshypertensionmodulationstrokewhite matter hyperintensities

Identifiers

PMID40021135
PMCPMC11870747

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.