Stroke and cardiovascular disease risk exacerbate brain aging among middle‐age and older Hispanics/Latinos: Preliminary findings from the Study of Latinos‐Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging‐MRI (SOL‐INCA‐MRI)

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundHispanics/Latinos have high prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors which increases risk for stroke. However, the downstream impacts of CVD risk and stroke on brain structure in aging Hispanics/Latinos remains largely unknown. We compared Hispanic/Latino brain aging by CVD risk and stroke.MethodHispanics/Latinos (nunweighted=1,156, 50‐85 years) from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as part of the Study of Latinos ‐ Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging‐MRI (SOL‐INCA‐MRI) ancillary study. Outcomes included global (gray matter, total brain) and regional (lobar cortices, hippocampal) brain, lateral ventricle (log‐transformed), and total white matter hyperintensity (WMH; log‐transformed) volumes residualized for total cranial volume. Ten‐year CVD risk at visit 2 (before MRI) was determined by Framingham Risk Score and recoded into three groups (Low (<10%), Medium (10‐<20%) and High (20+%)). Stroke (yes, no) was based on self‐report of ≥1 strokes or transient ischemic attacks at visit 1 and/or 2. Linear regression models tested 1) whether CVD risk or presence of stroke modified the relationship between age and MRI outcomes, and 2) whether CVD risk or stroke related brain aging differed by sex. All models adjusted for height and Hispanic/Latino background.ResultSample was 64.3± 7.1 years old on average (nunweighted=798 women). High CVD risk was inversely associated with total brain (standardized beta β=–0.26; p<0.001), total gray (β=‐0.23; p=0.006), frontal (β = ‐0.33; p<0.001) and parietal cortical gray (β =‐0.28; p=0.002) matter volumes and positively associated with (log) lateral ventricle (β log=0.23; p=0.006) and (log) WMH (βlog =0.42; p<0.001) volumes. Stroke/TIA (nunweighted=48) showed a similar profile of associations but only the associations with (log) lateral ventricle (βlog=0.27; p=0.049) and (log) WMH (βlog=0.44; p=0.001) reached significance. Accelerated brain aging (age slope modification) through CVD risk and stroke was evident for total brain volume but less so for other MRI outcomes, and equivalently so across sexes.ConclusionAmong Hispanics/Latinos, CVD risk and stroke are associated with poorer brain health across brain MRI indicators. Additionally, CVD risk and stroke may accelerate overall brain aging for both Hispanic/Latino men and women as determined by total brain volumes.