Journal
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
Volume 75, Issue 2, Pages 380-386Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glz039
Keywords
Carotid intima; media thickness; Brain perfusion; Epidemiology
Categories
Funding
- Swedish Research Council [523-2012-2291]
- Alzheimer Foundation-Czech Republic, project Sustainability for the National Institute of Mental Health [LO1611]
- Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
- University of Alabama at Birmingham [HHSN268201300025C, HHSN268201300026C]
- Northwestern University [HHSN268201300027C]
- University of Minnesota [HHSN268201300028C]
- Kaiser Foundation Research Institute [HHSN268201300029C]
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine [HHSN268200900041C]
- Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Aging (NIA)
- NIA [AG0005]
- NHLBI [AG0005]
- PRIMUS [247066]
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING [ZIAAG007480] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
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Background: We investigated whether carotid intima-media thickness is associated with measures of cerebral blood flow (CBF), white matter hyperintensities, and brain volume in a biracial cohort of middle-aged individuals. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional cohort study based on data from a multicenter, population-based study Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults. Using linear and logistic regression, we estimated the association of the composite intima-media thickness measured in three segments of carotid arteries (common carotid artery, carotid artery bulb, and internal carotid artery) with volume (cm(3)) and CBF (mL/100 g/min) in the total brain and gray matter as well as volume of white matter hyperintensities (cm(3)). Results: In the analysis, 461 participants (54% women, 34% African Americans) were included. Greater intima-media thickness was associated with lower CBF in gray matter (beta=-1.36; p = .04) and total brain (beta=-1.26; p = .04), adjusting for age, sex, race, education, and total brain volume. The associations became statistically nonsignificant after further controlling for cardiovascular risk factors. Intima-media thickness was not associated with volumes of total brain, gray matter, and white matter hyperintensities. Conclusions: This study suggests that lower CBF in middle age is associated with markers of atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries. This association may reflect early long-term exposure to traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Early intervention on atherosclerotic risk factors may modulate the trajectory of CBF as people age and develop brain pathology.
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