Abstract Rationale The Lung Health Cohort (LHC) is examining determinants of lung health in 4000 young adults. In this ancillary study, we are collecting xenon MRI (Xe-MRI) in 260 LHC participants, with enrollment currently at 130. This unique dataset is the largest of its kind that collects harmonized Xe-MRI data in well-characterized healthy volunteers within a narrow age range (25-35 years). In this preliminary analysis, we examine the association of Xe-MRI quantitative measures with demographic features, including age, sex, race, height, weight, and body mass index (BMI). Methods 130 participants have been enrolled across 3 sites (KUMC-83, Duke-27, Iowa-20). Images were collected using harmonized acquisition based on 129Xe MRI Clinical Trials Consortium recommendations. Images were analyzed to generate quantitative image metrics, including ventilation defect percent (VDP), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), membrane uptake, red blood cell (RBC) transfer, RBC/Membrane, RBC oscillation amplitude, membrane and RBC chemical shifts, and membrane and RBC T2*. Demographic information was extracted from the baseline visit from the parent LHC. A cross-correlation matrix was generated between all Xe-MRI features and demographics using Pearson correlation (continuous-continuous) and correlation ratios (η; Categorical-Continuous). Results Of the 130 enrolled participants, 80 (62%) were female. The mean age was 29.8±3.2 years. Racial distribution was: 84(65%) White; 18(14%) Black; 11(8%) Asian; 17 (13%) Unknown or Other. Participants had an average height of 168±10 cm, weight of 79.4±19.7 kg, and BMI of 27.9±6.2 kg/m2. The generated cross-correlation matrix is shown in the figure. RBC/Membrane (R=-0.27) and Membrane uptake (R=-0.22) correlated with age. All gas exchange metrics were associated with sex, with RBC/Mem having the strongest correlation (η = 0.64). Similarly, most gas exchange measures correlated with weight and height, though only RBC transfer (R = 0.37), RBC oscillation (R = 0.18), Membrane chemical shift (R = 0.42), and Membrane T2* (R = 0.29) correlated with BMI. VDP had only a weak association (R=-0.19) with BMI. No Xe-MRI features correlated with race, and no demographic features were associated with ADC. Conclusions Demographic factors—including sex, weight, height, and BMI—strongly influence gas exchange Xe-MRI measures in young adults from the lung health cohort. VDP and ADC, on the other hand, only showed minimal associations with demographic features. These findings underscore the importance of accounting for demographic variability when reporting Xe-MRI results and provide valuable insights into the interpretation of lung function in healthy populations. This abstract is funded by: R01HL168446
Mali et al. (Fri,) studied this question.