Prevalence and Risk Factors Comparison of Anterior and Posterior Intracranial Arterial Stenosis

The prevalence and risk factors of intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) located in the anterior circulation (AC) and posterior circulation (PC) has been scarcely noted in the general population. We aimed to determine ICAS prevalence and risk factor profile of AC and PC in a representative population. Data were from the China Hypertension Survey of Beijing. In total, 4800 people aged 35 years or older were enrolled in this subsurvey for ICAS, and 3954 participants were eligible for analysis. ICAS was assessed by transcranial Doppler. The prevalence of ICAS in AC was much greater than that in PC (11.9% vs. 4.2%), and subjects with ICAS in PC were 3.9 years older than those with ICAS in AC. Multivariable logistics regression showed that the odds of hypertension and diabetes increased by 79% (OR: 1.79, 95% CI: 1.40–2.27) and 35% (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.04–1.75) in those with AC vascular lesions and by 3.35 times (OR: 3.35, 95% CI: 2.49–4.50) and 71% (OR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.19–2.46) in those with PC vascular lesions compared with those without vascular lesions. Most modifiable vascular risk factors for ICAS appeared to exert similar magnitudes of risk for PC to AC lesions.