TABLE 1.
Basic characteristics and cognitive evaluations among the three groups.
| Items | WMH-I (n = 106) | WMH-II (n = 72) | WMH-III (n = 55) | F/χ2 | P-value |
| Age (years) | 64.34 ± 6.85 | 66.78 ± 7.96 | 68.11 ± 6.47a | 5.709 | 0.004* |
| Gender, male (% male) | 55 (51.89) | 37 (51.39) | 24 (43.64) | 1.093 | 0.579 |
| Education (years) | 11.42 ± 3.85 | 10.46 ± 3.87 | 10.24 ± 3.87 | 2.194 | 0.114 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 65 (61.32) | 53 (73.61) | 37 (67.27) | 2.926 | 0.231 |
| Diabetes, n (%) | 27 (25.47) | 16 (22.22) | 13 (23.63) | 0.254 | 0.881 |
| Smoking, n (%) | 17 (16.04) | 18 (25.00) | 14 (25.45) | 2.922 | 0.232 |
| Hyperlipidemia, n (%) | 20 (17.92) | 20 (22.22) | 11 (20.00) | 2.141 | 0.343 |
| WMH volume (ml) | 1.94 ± 1.13 | 5.34 ± 1.86a | 17.45 ± 10.44ab | 93.88 | <0.001* |
| Total brain volume (ml) | 1,405.83 ± 116.18 | 1,410.40 ± 133.41 | 1,409.35 ± 135.44 | 0.03 | 0.974 |
| Gray matter volume (ml) | 572.42 ± 47.36 | 567.08 ± 50.51 | 551.45 ± 55.91 | 2.84 | 0.061 |
| White matter volume (ml) | 473.28 ± 46.79 | 477.23 ± 59.97 | 477.07 ± 58.24 | 0.13 | 0.88 |
| HAMD | 5.78 ± 4.62 | 6.00 ± 5.21 | 6.40 ± 4.92 | 0.270 | 0.764 |
| HAMA | 7.79 ± 6.51 | 9.32 ± 7.60 | 9.04 ± 7.50 | 1.141 | 0.321 |
| Z-score of cognition | |||||
| MMSE | 0.20 ± 0.56 | −0.09 ± 1.10 | −0.27 ± 1.38a | 4.418 | 0.013* |
| MoCA | 0.45 ± 0.70 | −0.26 ± 0.97a | −0.52 ± 1.19a | 24.39 | <0.001* |
| SCWT-A | −0.35 ± 0.47 | 0.11 ± 1.12a | 0.51 ± 1.29a | 14.26 | <0.001* |
| SCWT-B | −0.25 ± 0.56 | 0.18 ± 1.41a | 0.25 ± 0.96a | 5.81 | 0.004* |
| SCWT-C | −0.24 ± 0.67 | −0.08 ± 1.15 | −0.35 ± 1.21a | 6.08 | 0.003* |
| TMT-A | −0.23 ± 0.48 | 0.05 ± 1.15 | 0.38 ± 1.37a | 6.83 | 0.001* |
| TMT-B | 0.27 ± 0.97 | 0.14 ± 0.98a | 0.35 ± 0.96a | 6.71 | 0.002* |
Values are presented as means ± standard deviation, median with minimum, and maximum or absolute numbers with percentages. HAMA, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale; HAMD, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; MMSE, Mini-Mental State Examination; MoCA, Montreal Cognitive Assessment; SCWT, Stroop Color and Word Tests; TMT, Trail Making Test; WMH, white matter hyperintensity. *P < 0.05, statistical difference among the three groups. aP < 0.05, statistically different from WMH-I. bP < 0.05, statistically different from WMH-II.