The following is a summary of “Association of Cardiovascular Health With Brain Age Estimated Using Machine Learning Methods in Middle-Aged and Older Adults,” published in the June 2024 issue of Neurology by Huang, et al.

Despite links between cardiovascular health (CVH) and cognitive decline or dementia, the precise impact of CVH on brain health is still under investigation.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study examining the link between cardiovascular health measured by Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) and brain age estimated from neuroimaging, including the brain-predicted age difference (brain-PAD).

They conducted a longitudinal community-based study using UK Biobank participants aged 40–69 years who were initially free from dementia and other neurological diseases. At baseline, they assessed LE8 score using 8 measures and categorized it into low, moderate, and high CVH tertiles. Approximately 9 years later, structural and functional brain MRI scans were performed, capturing 1,079 measures across 6 neuroimaging modalities to estimate brain age. To calculate brain age and brain-PAD for the entire population of 4,355 healthy participants, a Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression model was used. The analysis utilized linear regression models to interpret the data.

The results showed 32,646 participants (mean age at baseline 54.74 years; 53.44% female; mean LE8 score: 71.90), higher LE8 scores were linked with younger brain age (β [95% CI] −0.037 [−0.043 to −0.031]) and more negative brain-PAD (β [95% CI] −0.043 [−0.048 to −0.038]) (indicating a younger brain appearance relative to chronological age). Compared to high CVH, low/moderate CVH was associated with older brain age (β [95% CI] 1.030 [0.852–1.208]/0.475 [0.303–0.647]) and increased brain-PAD (β [95% CI] 1.193 [1.029–1.357]/0.528 [0.370–0.686]). The associations persisted similarly in middle-aged (β [95% CI] 1.199 [0.992–1.405]/1.351 [1.159–1.542]) and older adults (β [95% CI] 0.764 [0.417–1.110]/0.948 [0.632–1.263]).

Investigators concluded that in middle-aged adults an association between poorer CVH (measured by LE8) and accelerated brain aging (reflected by brain age and brain-PAD), highlighting the potential benefits of CVH optimization for brain health.

Source: neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000209530