Adherence to Life's Essential 8 is associated with delayed white matter aging.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cardiovascular Health
• Genetics

Background:

• The American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 (LE8) provides a framework for cardiovascular health.
• The impact of LE8 on healthy brain aging and its interaction with genetic risk factors, like APOE4, remains unclear.
• Understanding these relationships is crucial for developing strategies to mitigate dementia risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between LE8 adherence and white matter brain aging.
• To examine the moderating effect of the APOE4 allele on this relationship.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study using UK Biobank data (n=18,817).
• Assessed LE8 variables (diet, activity, sleep, etc.) and APOE4 genotype.
• Utilized diffusion tensor imaging to calculate white matter brain age gap via random forest regression.

Main Results:

• Higher LE8 scores correlated with a reduced white matter brain age gap, indicating delayed brain aging.
• This association was significant for individual LE8 components.
• The beneficial effect of LE8 was more pronounced in non-APOE4 carriers compared to APOE4 carriers.
• Significant interactions between LE8 and brain aging were observed in early middle-aged women with APOE4.

Conclusions:

• LE8 adherence is linked to delayed brain aging, with effects modulated by APOE4 genotype.
• Lifestyle interventions show promise in reducing dementia risk.
• Personalized prevention strategies considering genetic predispositions and sex are warranted.