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) promotes cardiovascular health.
• The impact of LE8 on brain aging and its interaction with genetic dementia risk factors like APOE4 are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

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

Main Methods:

• Utilized UK Biobank data including genetic, neuroimaging (DTI), and health information from 18,817 participants.
• Employed random forest regression to predict white matter brain age and calculated the brain age gap (BAG).
• Analyzed regional fractional anisotropy measures and considered APOE4 genotype.

Main Results:

• Higher LE8 scores correlated with a reduced white matter brain age gap, indicating delayed brain aging.
• The association between LE8 and delayed brain aging was significant in both non-APOE4 carriers and APOE4 carriers.
• A potential interaction between APOE4 and LE8 on brain aging was observed in specific subgroups, requiring further validation.

Conclusions:

• Life's Essential 8 adherence is associated with delayed brain aging.
• Genetic factors like APOE4 may moderate this effect in certain age and sex groups.
• Lifestyle interventions are broadly applicable for promoting brain health across diverse populations.