Abstract
Introduction: Data show an association of CVD risk factors in mid-life with older age dementia. Atherosclerosis (ATH) and arteriosclerosis (ART) are both implicated in incident dementia however their relationship with incident Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains elusive. We investigated the association of mid-life cardiovascular risk factors and mid-life subclinical CVD (ATH and ART) with late-life AD pathology. Methods: Non-demented participants over the age of 65 from the Heart Strategies Concentrating on Risk Evaluation (Heart SCORE) study underwent brain PET acquisition (2018-2020) for AD specific amyloid deposition [by Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB)]. Pearson’s correlation and OR (95% CI) using Cox regression for association of cortical PiB retention with mid-life (2003-2005) markers of ATH (coronary artery calcium [CAC] score and carotid intima thickness [CIMT]) and ART (vascular stiffness) were calculated. Results: Among 121 participants in late-life (mean age ~79y), age was significantly correlated to lower cognition ( r =0.19, p=0.03) but gender, race and diabetes were not. Late-life AD pathology was not significantly associated with mid-life CAC (>150) [OR=0.12 (0.01, 2.36); p=0.16] or CIMT [OR=1.80 (0.84, 3.86); p=0.40]. Presence of increased vascular stiffness in mid-life showed a significant association with late-life PiB retention (Table ). Conclusions: In a small number of biracial middle-aged adults, subclinical markers of atherosclerosis did not independently predict increased biomarkers of AD pathology. However, vascular stiffness in mid-life was significantly associated with late-life brain biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease pathology. Further research can elucidate the role of mid-life athero- and arteriosclerosis in Alzheimer's disease dementia.
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