Circulating cortisol and cognitive and structural brain measures: The Framingham Heart Study.

Justin B Echouffo-Tcheugui1, Sarah C Conner2, Jayandra J Himali2

  • 1From the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension (J.B.E.-T.), Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (J.B.E.-T., S.C.C., J.J.H., A.S.B., R.S.V., S.S.), Framingham Heart Study, MA; Department of Neurology (S.C.C., J.J.H., A.S.B., S.S.) and Sections of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology (R.S.V.) and Cardiology (R.S.V.), Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine; Departments of Biostatistics (J.J.H., A.S.B.) and Epidemiology (R.S.V.), Boston University School of Public Health, MA; Department of Neurology (P.M., C.S.D.), University of California, Davis, Sacramento; and Glenn Biggs Institute of Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases (S.S.), University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio. jechouffotcheugui@bwh.harvard.edu echouffotcheugui@gmail.com.

Neurology
|October 26, 2018
PubMed
Summary

Higher morning cortisol levels are linked to poorer memory and smaller brain volumes in adults without dementia, especially in women. This suggests cortisol impacts cognitive function and brain structure early in life.

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