Cardiovascular health in young adulthood and structural brain MRI in midlife
Key result
Higher young adult CVH scores are linked to ~0.1% greater midlife brain volume per LS7 point.
- MD 0.1%
- 95% CI 0.01-0.3
- P<0.05
- n=518
Why the study?
The association between cardiovascular health in young adulthood, measured by the AHA Life's Simple 7 metric, and brain structure in midlife was unclear.
Does a higher cardiovascular health score in young adulthood improve structural brain MRI volumes in midlife?
Population
518 participants aged 18-30 years at baseline from the CARDIA brain MRI substudy
Comparison
Higher versus lower cardiovascular health scores according to AHA Life's Simple 7 metric
Design
Cohort study with multivariable regression analysis
Follow-up
25 years
Authors
Discussion
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Member takes
Implication
May support early CV health focus for midlife brain volume; extends associations but leaves causal effects and interventions open.
Study Design
Type
Cohort (n=518)
Multicenter
Yes
Structured PICO
Does a higher cardiovascular health score in young adulthood improve structural brain MRI volumes in midlife?
P
Population
518 young adults aged 18-30 years from the CARDIA brain MRI substudy, followed for 25 years to assess the impact of cardiovascular health on midlife brain structure.
E
Exposure
Cardiovascular health (CVH) score according to the American Heart Association (AHA) Life's Simple 7 (LS7) metric (range 0-14) at baseline and year 25 follow-up.
C
Comparator
Lower CVH scores.
O
Outcome
Percent of intracranial volume of normal tissue of the whole brain, gray matter, and white matter, and abnormal tissue volume of white matter at year 25.surrogate
Main Result
Mean Difference: 0.1 (95% CI 0.01–0.3)
p-value: p=<0.05
Maintaining ideal cardiovascular health in young adulthood is associated with greater whole brain volume in middle age, suggesting early cardiovascular health preservation benefits long-term brain structure.
Cite This Study
Bancks et al. (2017) conducted a cohort in Cardiovascular health (n=518). Cardiovascular health (AHA Life's Simple 7 score) vs. Lower cardiovascular health score was evaluated on Percentage of whole brain volume at year 25 (MD 0.1%, 95% CI 0.01-0.3, p=<0.05). Higher cardiovascular health scores in young adulthood were associated with greater whole brain volume in midlife (0.1% increase per additional LS7 point; 95% CI 0.01-0.3; p<0.05).