Higher serum NT-proBNP levels were associated with smaller total brain volume (mean difference -0.021, P = .003) and larger white matter lesion volume (mean difference 0.090, P < .001).
Are higher serum NT-proBNP levels associated with MR imaging markers of subclinical brain damage in community-dwelling adults without clinical heart disease?
In community-dwelling adults without clinical heart disease, higher NT-proBNP levels are associated with subclinical brain damage on MRI, suggesting a link between subclinical cardiac dysfunction and brain health.
Absolute Event Rate: 0% vs 0%
Purpose To investigate the association between N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), which is a marker of heart disease, and markers of subclinical brain damage on magnetic resonance (MR) images in community-dwelling middle-aged and elderly subjects without dementia and without a clinical diagnosis of heart disease. Materials and Methods This prospective population-based cohort study was approved by a medical ethics committee overseen by the national government, and all participants gave written informed consent. Serum levels of NT-proBNP were measured in 2397 participants without dementia or stroke (mean age, 56.6 years; age range, 45.7-87.3 years) and without clinical diagnosis of heart disease who were drawn from the population-based Rotterdam Study. All participants were examined with a 1.5-T MR imager. Multivariable linear and logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the association between NT-proBNP level and MR imaging markers of subclinical brain damage, including volumetric, focal, and microstructural markers. Results A higher NT-proBNP level was associated with smaller total brain volume (mean difference in z score per standard deviation increase in NT-proBNP level, -0.021; 95% confidence interval CI: -0.034, -0.007; P = .003) and was predominantly driven by gray matter volume (mean difference in z score per standard deviation increase in NT-proBNP level, -0.037; 95% CI: -0.057, -0.017; P © RSNA, 2016 Online supplemental material is available for this article.
Zonneveld et al. (Wed,) reported a other. Higher serum NT-proBNP levels were associated with smaller total brain volume (mean difference -0.021, P = .003) and larger white matter lesion volume (mean difference 0.090, P < .001).