Vascular Disease Is Associated With Differences in Brain Structure and Lower Cognitive Functioning in Inflammatory...

Vascular disease and cognitive impairment have been increasingly documented in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and both have been individually correlated with changes in brain structure. This study aimed to determine if both macro- and microstructural brain changes are prevalent in IBD and whether alterations in brain structure mediate the relationship between vascular disease and cognitive functioning.

Eighty-four IBD participants underwent multimodal magnetic resonance imaging. Volumetric and mean diffusivity measures of the thalamus, hippocampus, normal-appearing white matter, and white matter lesions were converted to age- and sex-adjusted z scores. Vascular comorbidity was assessed using a modified Framingham Risk Score and cognition was assessed using a battery of neuropsychological tests. Test scores were standardized using local regression-based norms. We generated summary statistics for the magnetic resonance imaging metrics and cognitive tests, and these were examined using canonical correlation analysis and linear regression modeling.

Greater vascular comorbidity was negatively correlated with thalamic, normal-appearing white matter, and white matter lesion volumes. Higher Framingham Risk Score were also correlated with lower processing speed, learning and memory, and verbal fluency. Increased vascular comorbidity was predictive of poorer cognitive functioning, and this effect was almost entirely mediated (94.76%) by differences in brain structure.

Vascular comorbidity is associated with deleterious effects on brain structure and lower cognitive functioning in IBD. These findings suggest that proper identification and treatment of vascular disease is essential to the overall management of IBD, and that certain brain areas may serve as critical targets for predicting the response to therapeutic interventions.