Effects of Obesity, Blood Pressure, and Blood Metabolic Biomarkers on Grey Matter Brain Healthcare Quotient: A Large Cohort Study of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging Brain Screening System in Japan

Keita Watanabe; Shingo Kakeda; Kiyotaka Nemoto; Keiichi Onoda; Shuhei Yamaguchi; Shotai Kobayashi; Yoshinori Yamakawa

doi:10.3390/jcm11112973

Effects of Obesity, Blood Pressure, and Blood Metabolic Biomarkers on Grey Matter Brain Healthcare Quotient: A Large Cohort Study of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging Brain Screening System in Japan

J Clin Med. 2022 May 25;11(11):2973. doi: 10.3390/jcm11112973.

Authors

Keita Watanabe¹, Shingo Kakeda², Kiyotaka Nemoto³, Keiichi Onoda⁴, Shuhei Yamaguchi^{5

6}, Shotai Kobayashi⁵, Yoshinori Yamakawa^{1

7

8

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Institution of Open Innovation, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
² Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine Radiology, Aomori 036-8562, Japan.
³ Division of Clinical Medicine, Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Otemon Gakuin University, Osaka 567-8502, Japan.
⁵ Department of Neurology, Shimane University, Izumo 690-0823, Japan.
⁶ Department of Neurology, Shimane Prefectural Central Hospital, Izumo 693-0068, Japan.
⁷ Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan.
⁸ Academic and Industrial Innovation, Kobe University, Kobe 657-8501, Japan.
⁹ ImPACT Program of Council for Science, Technology, and Innovation, Cabinet Office, Tokyo 100-8914, Japan.
¹⁰ Brain Impact General Incorporated Association, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between grey matter (GM) volume and blood biomarkers, blood pressure, and obesity. We aimed to elucidate lifestyle factors that promote GM volume loss. A total of 1799 participants underwent the brain dock as a medical checkup. Data regarding blood pressure, obesity measurements, and standard blood biomarkers were obtained. Further, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including high-resolution T1-weighted imaging, was performed. We calculated the grey matter brain healthcare quotient (GM-BHQ), which represents GM volume as a deviation value. After adjusting for confounding variables, multiple regression analysis revealed that body mass index (BMI) (b = −0.28, p < 0.001), gamma-glutamyltransferase (γ-GTP) (b = −0.01, p = 0.16), and fasting blood glucose (b = −0.02, p = 0.049) were significantly correlated with GM-BHQ. Although the current cross-sectional study cannot determine a cause-and-effect relationship, elevated BMI, γ-GTP, and fasting blood glucose could promote GM volume loss.

Keywords: BMI; GM volume; GM-BHQ; MRI; blood biomarker; blood pressure.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the ImPACT Program of the Council for Science, Technology, and Innovation (Cabinet Office, Government of Japan) and by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Kakenhi Grant Number 17H06151.