For the purpose of determining the frequency and risk factors of asymptomatic lacunar infarct, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain was conducted on 101 cases composed of 69 males and 32 females who underwent health screening of the brain and the following results were obtained.
1) The frequency of asymptomatic lacunar infarct gradually increased with age, the rate being 0% at ages under 40, 3.9% between 40 and 49, 22.6% between 50 and 59, 48.5% between 60 and 69, and 80% at ages over 70.
2) Arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus were found to be the risk factors of asymptomatic lacunar infarct, but sex, smoking history, alcohol consumption, lipid and atherogenic indices were not associated with the incidence of asymptomatic lacunar infarct. Lipoprotein (a) level showed a tendency to increase in lacunar infarct cases (p= 0.10) .
3) The number of lacunar infarct showed a positive correlation to age (p<0.01), systolic blood pressure (p<0.01), and fasting blood sugar level (p<0.01) .

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