Cerebral microbleeds are associated with physical frailty: a community-based study

The present study aimed to evaluate whether cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), as a presentation of cerebral small vessel diseases (CSVDs), are associated with physical frailty. This is a cross-sectional evaluation in participants from a community-based study, the I-Lan Longitudinal Aging Study. The physical frail status was evaluated using the Cardiovascular Health Study score, which includes components of weakness, low physical activity, slowness, exhaustion, and weight loss. The CMBs were assessed with magnetic resonance imaging using susceptibility-weighted imaging. Of the 962 subjects (62.5 [8.6] years, 44.2% men) included, 33.2% had physical prefrail and 3.3% had frail status. Compared with the robust subjects, prefrail and/or frail subjects presented with more overall CMB numbers and a higher number and/or incidence of CMB in the deep and/or infratentorial regions. Multivariate analysis with adjustment for age, sex, and vascular risk factors revealed that the CMB numbers were significantly associated with physical frailty. The brainstem was the only CMB location significantly associated with physical frailty (odds ratio, 95% CI, 13.50, 1.23-147.79) and the weakness component (5.04, 1.47-17.2), independent of age, sex, vascular risk factors, and the other presentations of CSVDs. Our results suggest that CSVD is involved in the pathophysiology of physical frailty.