Associations among vascular risk factors, neuroimaging biomarkers, and cognition: Preliminary analyses from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

Samuel N Lockhart; Christopher L Schaich; Suzanne Craft; Bonnie C Sachs; Stephen R Rapp; Youngkyoo Jung; Christopher T Whitlow; Kiran Kumar Solingapuram Sai; Maryjo Cleveland; Benjamin J Williams; Gregory L Burke; Alain Bertoni; Kathleen M Hayden; Timothy M Hughes

doi:10.1002/alz.12429

Associations among vascular risk factors, neuroimaging biomarkers, and cognition: Preliminary analyses from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

Alzheimers Dement. 2022 Apr;18(4):551-560. doi: 10.1002/alz.12429. Epub 2021 Sep 5.

Authors

Samuel N Lockhart^{1

2}, Christopher L Schaich³, Suzanne Craft^{1

2}, Bonnie C Sachs^{1

2

4

5}, Stephen R Rapp^{2

6}, Youngkyoo Jung^{2

7}, Christopher T Whitlow^{2

8

9

10}, Kiran Kumar Solingapuram Sai⁸, Maryjo Cleveland^{1

2}, Benjamin J Williams^{1

2

4}, Gregory L Burke⁵, Alain Bertoni¹¹, Kathleen M Hayden^{2

5}, Timothy M Hughes^{1

2

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
² Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
³ Department of Surgery-Hypertension and Vascular Research, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
⁴ Department of Neurology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
⁵ Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Social Sciences & Health Policy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
⁷ University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA.
⁸ Department of Radiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
⁹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
¹⁰ Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
¹¹ Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.

Abstract

Introduction: Little is known about how antecedent vascular risk factor (VRF) profiles impact late-life brain health.

Methods: We examined baseline VRFs, and cognitive testing and neuroimaging measures (β-amyloid [Aβ] PET, MRI) in a diverse longitudinal cohort (N = 159; 50% African-American, 50% White) from Wake Forest's Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis Core.

Results: African-Americans exhibited greater baseline Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Incidence of Dementia (CAIDE), Framingham stroke risk profile (FSRP), and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk estimate (ASCVD) scores than Whites. We observed no significant racial differences in Aβ positivity, cortical thickness, or white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume. Higher baseline VRF scores were associated with lower cortical thickness and greater WMH volume, and FSRP and CAIDE were associated with Aβ. Aβ was cross-sectionally associated with cognition, and all imaging biomarkers were associated with greater 6-year cognitive decline.

Discussion: Results suggest the convergence of multiple vascular and Alzheimer's processes underlying neurodegeneration and cognitive decline.

Keywords: aging; cognition; magnetic resonance imaging; positron emission tomography; vascular risk factors.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Atherosclerosis* / diagnostic imaging
Biomarkers
Brain / diagnostic imaging
Cognition
Cognitive Dysfunction* / diagnostic imaging
Cognitive Dysfunction* / epidemiology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Neuroimaging
Risk Factors

Substances

Biomarkers

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding