Strong and specific associations between cardiovascular risk factors and white matter micro- and macrostructure in
Delia Fuhrmann1, David Nesbitt1, Meredith Shafto2
1MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Insights
Cardiovascular health significantly impacts brain white matter integrity across adulthood. Maintaining healthy blood pressure and heart rate is crucial for preserving white matter health as we age.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cardiology
- Gerontology
Background:
- Cardiovascular health deteriorates with age, elevating risks for hypertension and elevated heart rate.
- White matter integrity is vital for cognitive function and is susceptible to age-related changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between cardiovascular health metrics and white matter integrity in a large, population-based cohort.
- To determine the independent and combined contributions of cardiovascular factors and age to white matter health.
Main Methods:
- Utilized multivariate statistical techniques on cross-sectional data from the Cam-CAN cohort (N=667, aged 18-88).
- Assessed cardiovascular health (diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, heart rate) and white matter characteristics (lesion volume, diffusion-weighted imaging microstructure).
Main Results:
- Cardiovascular health and age equally contributed to white matter health, explaining up to 56% of the variance.
- Lower diastolic blood pressure, higher systolic blood pressure, and higher heart rate were independently linked to white matter abnormalities.
- Body mass and exercise influenced white matter health directly and indirectly through cardiovascular parameters.
Conclusions:
- Cardiovascular risk factors are critical for maintaining white matter health throughout adult life.
- Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate appear to influence white matter integrity through distinct pathways.
- Interventions targeting cardiovascular health may preserve brain white matter integrity.
Abstract:
Cardiovascular health declines with age, increasing the risk of hypertension and elevated heart rate in middle and old age. Here, we used multivariate techniques to investigate the associations between cardiovascular health (diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, and heart rate) and white matter macrostructure (lesion volume and number) and microstructure (as measured by diffusion-weighted imaging) in the cross-sectional, population-based Cam-CAN cohort (N = 667, aged 18-88). We found that cardiovascular health and age made approximately similar contributions to white matter health and explained up to 56% of variance therein. Lower diastolic blood pressure, higher systolic blood pressure, and higher heart rate were each strongly, and independently, associated with white matter abnormalities on all indices. Body mass and exercise were associated with white matter health, both directly and indirectly via cardiovascular health. These results highlight the importance of cardiovascular risk factors for white matter health across the adult lifespan and suggest that systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate affect white matter health via separate mechanisms.
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