Arterial Stiffness Is Associated with White Matter Disruption and Cognitive Impairment: A Community-Based Cohort Study

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Han, Fei^{a; 1} | Zhai, Fei-Fei^{a; 1} | Li, Ming-Li^b | Zhou, Li-Xin^a | Ni, Jun^a | Yao, Ming^a | Jin, Zheng-Yu^b | Cui, Li-Ying^a | Zhang, Shu-Yang^c | Zhu, Yi-Cheng^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Neurology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China | [b] Department of Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China | [c] Department of Cardiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Science, Beijing, China

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Yi-Cheng Zhu, Department of Neuro-logy, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Science No.1 Shuaifuyuan, Wangfujing, Beijing, 100730, China. Tel.:+861069154059; Fax:+861069156372; zhuych910@163.com

Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract: Background:Mechanisms through which arterial stiffness impacts cognitive function are crucial for devising better strategies to prevent cognitive decline. Objective:To examine the associations of arterial stiffness with white matter integrity and cognition in community dwellings, and to investigate whether white matter injury was the intermediate of the associations between arterial stiffness and cognition. Methods:This study was a cross-sectional analysis on 952 subjects (aged 55.5±9.1 years) who underwent diffusion tensor imaging and measurement of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Both linear regression and tract-based spatial statistics were used to investigate the association between baPWV and white matter integrity. The association between baPWV and global cognitive function, measured as the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) was evaluated. Mediation analysis was performed to assess the influence of white matter integrity on the association of baPWV with MMSE. Results:Increased baPWV was significantly associated with lower mean global fractional anisotropy (β= –0.118, p < 0.001), higher mean diffusivity (β= 0.161, p < 0.001), axial diffusivity (β= 0.160, p < 0.001), and radial diffusivity (β= 0.147, p < 0.001) after adjustment of age, sex, and hypertension, which were measures having a direct effect on arterial stiffness and white matter integrity. After adjustment of age, sex, education, apolipoprotein E ɛ4, cardiovascular risk factors, and brain atrophy, we found an association of increased baPWV with worse performance on MMSE (β= –0.093, p = 0.011). White matter disruption partially mediated the effect of baPWV on MMSE. Conclusion:Arterial stiffness is associated with white matter disruption and cognitive decline. Reduced white matter integrity partially explained the effect of arterial stiffness on cognition.

Keywords: Arterial stiffness, brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity, cognitive function, diffusion tensor imaging, white matter

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-201424

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 80, no. 2, pp. 567-576, 2021