Table 2 Variables retrieved from autopsy reports and medical records, and their definitions
From: Cortical microvascular raspberries and ageing: an independent but not exclusive relationship
Variable | Retrieved from | Definition |
|---|---|---|
Alzheimer's disease neuropathologic change | Autopsy report | Alzheimer's disease neuropathologic change with neurofibrillary tangle pathology corresponding to Braak stage III or more [16,17,18] |
Lewy body disease or multiple system atrophy | Autopsy report | Lewy body disease of brainstem-predominant, limbic, or neocortical category [18,19,20]. Multiple system atrophy regardless of subtype [21, 22] |
Frontotemporal lobar degeneration | Autopsy report | Frontotemporal lobar degeneration regardless of subtype [23,24,25] |
Vascular cognitive impairment | Autopsy report and medical records | Multiple ischaemic lesions, absence of relevant neurodegenerative disease, and symptoms suggestive of mild cognitive impairment or dementia [15, 26] |
Mixed/other neurodegenerative disease | Autopsy report | Neurodegenerative disease co-occurring with multiple infarcts, combined neurodegenerative diseases, or other/unclassifiable neurodegenerative pathology |
Cerebral infarcts | Autopsy report | Ranked ordinally as none, one, or multiple |
Cerebral atherosclerosis | Autopsy report | Atherosclerotic plaques in the basilar artery or the circle of Willis |
Cerebral small vessel disease | Autopsy report | Cerebral arteriolosclerosis of hyaline or hyperplastic type [27] |
Cardiac hypertrophy | Autopsy report | Heart weights suggestive of hypertrophy were calculated in retrospect according to the model by Vanhaebost et al. [28]. Based on average heights and body weights of the Swedish population [29], a heart weight exceeding 386 g in women (166 cm, 68 kg) or 463 g in men (180 cm, 84 kg) was considered suggestive of hypertrophy |
Nephrosclerosis | Autopsy report | Macroscopic granular scarring and/or microscopic arteriolosclerosis and glomerulosclerosis [30, 31] |
Hypertension | Medical records | Clinically diagnosed |
Hypertensive organ damage | Autopsy report and medical records | In individuals diagnosed with hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy in combination with either nephrosclerosis or cerebral small vessel disease was considered suggestive of hypertensive organ damage [32]. In absence of clinically diagnosed hypertension, cases with this combination of organ findings were categorised as indeterminate |
Diabetes mellitus | Medical records | Clinically diagnosed |