Table 2.
Study classification by SVD severity and presentation.
| Group | Description |
|---|---|
| Healthy to mild SVD | According to the definitions used in the original articles from which data was extracted: those defined as neurologically, functionally or cognitively healthy, community-dwelling individuals or participants with mild covert SVD (no clinical presentation with radiological features of SVD originally described as “mild”: deep or periventricular WMH, white matter lesions, vascular white matter disease, lacunes, leukoaraiosis, CMBs, silent brain infarcts, or ICH). |
| Moderate to severe SVD | According to the definitions used in the original articles from which data was extracted: those with moderate or severe clinical or non-clinical presentations of SVD. This group included stroke presentations, cognitive presentations, moderate to severe covert SVD and genetic SVD. |
| Stroke presentations | Those first presenting with a lacunar or subcortical stroke or lacunar syndrome. Since cerebrovascular events can precede cognitive impairment, participants with both stroke and cognitive presentations of SVD (e.g., participants with lacunar stroke who also presented with VaD) were considered part of the stroke presentations group rather than the cognitive presentations group. |
| Cognitive presentations | Those presenting with self-reported and/or diagnosed cognitive impairment (subjective cognitive/memory complaints, subjective cognitive decline, VaMCI, VaD, subcortical ischemic vascular dementia or multi-infarct dementia). |
| Moderate to severe covert SVD | Those with no clinical presentation found to have radiological features of SVD originally described as “moderate” or “severe” (deep or periventricular WMH, white matter lesions vascular white matter disease, lacunes, leukoaraiosis, CMBs, silent brain infarcts, or ICH). |
| Genetic SVD | CADASIL |
CADASIL, cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy; CMB, cerebral microbleeds; ICH, intracerebral hemorrhage; SVD, cerebral small vessel disease; VaD, vascular dementia; VaMCI, vascular mild cognitive impairment; WMH, white matter hyperintensities.