Vascular risk burden, brain health, and next steps.

Abstract

In this issue of Neurology ®, Pase et al.1 on behalf of the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) investigators share the results of an epidemiologic analysis of both cross-sectional and longitudinal data of age-related influences of vascular risk factor burden on brain structure. The analysis included participants from the prospective, community-based FHS that comprised an Original cohort dating back to 1948, an Offspring cohort, and a Third Generation cohort (i.e., the grandchildren of the Original cohort). The cross-sectional portion of the study included 2,887 participants and an updated version of the Framingham Stroke Risk Profile (FSRP) calculated to assess their vascular risk factor burden. They examined the strength of association between the FSRP and brain volume across age decades from 45 to 54 years through 85–94 years. In the longitudinal portion of the study, they analyzed 40 years of data assessing the strength of association between vascular risk burden at earlier ages and brain volume changes among 7,968 participants.