Why the study?
Are there sex-specific associations between vascular risk factors (hypertension, smoking), white matter damage, and cognition in a middle-aged cohort?
Are there sex-specific associations between vascular risk factors (hypertension, smoking), white matter damage, and cognition in a middle-aged cohort?
Women may have a higher susceptibility to vascular pathology causing white matter damage, but possess a higher cognitive reserve compared to men.
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Hypothesis-generating for sex-specific vascular effects on white matter; prospective studies needed to confirm cognitive implications.
We observed a stronger association of hypertension and smoking with white matter damage in women, suggesting a higher susceptibility for vascular pathology in women. However, there was no association of WMH with cognition, and FA was associated with executive function tests only in men, suggesting a higher cognitive reserve in women.
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Bonberg et al. (2022) studied this question.
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