Subclinical cerebral infarcts are highly prevalent (nearly 18%) in the community and are associated with age, male sex, and hypertension, indicating a larger public health burden of stroke than symptomatic cases alone suggest.
SBI were detected in nearly 18% of subjects in a multiethnic community-based cohort. Age, male sex, and hypertension were independently associated with SBI. Subclinical cerebral infarcts are more prevalent than symptomatic infarcts and may increase the true public health burden of stroke.
Prabhakaran et al. (2007) studied this question.