Association of Arterial Stiffness and Prefrontal Cortex Activity in Women with Central Obesity

Objectives: Obesity is considered an established, independent, and modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is linked to increased arterial stiffness, possibly due to chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and other metabolic changes cardiovascular disease (CVD). Obesity associated with increased arterial stiffness can compromise blood flow to the prefrontal cortex area of the brain, involved in executive control, decision-making or choice control, and other higher-order cognitive processes. Brain oxygenation can be measured with functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), which provides the amount of oxy and deoxyhemoglobin levels. This work aims to study the relation between central obesity, arterial stiffness, and prefrontal cortex activity and understand whether arterial stiffness mediates the relationship between obesity and reduced blood flow to the prefrontal cortex. The objective of the study is to correlate arterial stiffness with prefrontal activity in women with central obesity using pulse wave velocity (PWV) and functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) parameters. Materials and Methods: 152 female subjects were recruited into the study with 76 participants with body mass index >24.9 categorized as overweight or obese and 76 were non obese healthy controls. Arterial health analysis was performed by recording a combination of parameters including pulse pressure, augmentation index, and carotid femoral PWV. Relative changes in oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin concentrations were measured using fNIRS. Results: Central hemodynamic parameters were found to be significantly altered ( P < 0.05) with an increase in carotid femoral PWV in obese individuals. Measurements of fNIRS have shown a significant rise in deoxyhemoglobin and a significant reduction in oxyhemoglobin levels ( P < 0.0001). The study also established a negative but weak correlation (r = −0.07) between PWV and deoxyhemoglobin at the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Conclusion: Women with central obesity show increased PWV and arterial stiffness along with reduced prefrontal cortex activity. fNIRS reveals altered hemodynamic and neurovascular coupling responses in individuals with obesity, making it a useful tool along with PWV measurements as a multimodal approach.