Vascular burden and brain aging in a senior volunteer cohort: A pilot study

To test the feasibility of establishing a senior volunteer cohort and describe vascular risks, cognitive function, and brain aging indices in a pilot study.

We enrolled 40 senior volunteers from the Tzu Chi Foundation and other organizations in Hualien in 2014-2015. We conducted in-person interviews to collect information on demographic features, physical fitness, dietary habits, comorbidities, and narratives of aging. Vascular risks including blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), serum glucose level, and lipid profile were examined. Each participant underwent a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests and structural brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Descriptive statistics and tabulation were applied to characterize this pilot cohort.

There were more volunteers from the Tzu Chi Foundation (n = 25) than other organizations. The mean age was 66.7 years (standard deviation = 5.1) and there was a female predominance (M:F = 13:27). The mean number of comorbid chronic diseases was 2.1 and the mean BMI was 24.5. Most participants (77.5%) engaged in outdoor walking activities every week. Nutrient intake in vegetarians (n = 18) did not differ from nonvegetarians except for lower Vitamin B12 levels (mean = 0.9 μg). All participants but one scored 26 or above in the Mini-Mental State Examination (mean = 28.4). Among the other cognitive tests, only one task related to inhibition and switching abilities was at the low average level. The mean values of vascular risk markers were within the normal ranges. The most common genotype of apolipoprotein E was ɛ3/ɛ3 (n = 32). The quality of MRI was sufficient for volumetric analysis.

It is feasible to establish a volunteer-based cohort to study brain aging in Taiwan. The senior volunteers were physically active and cognitively healthy. Vascular risks were well distributed among these participants. Future longitudinal study will allow us to observe changes in these markers over time and provide dynamic evidence about vascular health and cognitive aging.