Association of Life’s Simple 7 with Brain Imaging Outcomes Among Hispanics/Latinos. Final Results from the Study of Latinos-Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging-MRI (SOL-INCA-MRI) Substudy
Gabriela Trifan1, Ariana Stickel2, Jianwen Cai3, Martha Daviglus4, Mayra Estrella4, Olga Garcia-Bedoya5, Linda Gallo6, Carmen Isasi7, Robert Kaplan7, Melissa Lamar8, Gregory Talavera6, Wassim Tarraf9, Hector Gonzalez10, Charles DeCarli11, Fernando Testai12
1UIC, Department of Neurology, 2University of California, San Diego, 3University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 4cInstitute for Minority Health Research, 5University of Illinois Chicago, 6San Diego State University, 7Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 8Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, 9Wayne State University, 10University of California, 11UC Davis Health - Dept of NeurologyAlzheimer's Disease Research Center, 12University of Illinois at Chicago
Objective:

 Investigate the association of Life’s Simple 7 (LS7) scores with brain volumes measured by MRI in Hispanic/Latino adults.

Background:
LS7 score has been used to quantify cardiovascular health. Higher scores in LS7 are associated with better cognitive function.
Design/Methods:

2482 participants from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) underwent 3T brain MR imaging.  We determined total brain, total and regional grey matter (frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital), total white matter, total CSF, lateral ventricle (LV), and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volumes. Volumes were residualized for total cranial volume. WMH and LV volumes were Ln-transformed. LS7 scores were calculated at baseline visit. Participants were grouped by LS7 tertiles (Q1, lowest, range 0-6, to Q3, highest, range 9-14). MRI outcomes across LS7 tertiles were investigated using linear regression analysis and adjusted for baseline characteristics. In a secondary analysis, we explored the interaction between LS7 and age on MRI outcomes. Results were expressed as regression coefficients and the corresponding 95% CI.

Results:

The participant's mean age was 62.3 (95% CI, 61.9 to 62.6) years and the mean±SD LS7 score was 7.4±2.0. In the fully adjusted model, individuals in Q3 had larger total brain (β=0.13, 0.01 to 0.26), total white matter (β=0.13, 0.03 to 0.23), total grey (β=0.19, 0.09 to 0.30) and frontal grey (β=0.17, 0.06 to 0.28) volumes, and smaller total CSF (β=-0.19, -0.29 to -0.10), LV (β=-0.18, -0.29 to -0.06) and WMH (β=-0.24, -0.35 to -0.13) volumes than individuals in Q1. With one unit increase in age, adults in LS7-Q3 had higher white matter (β=0.03, 0.02-0.04) and occipital gray volumes (β=0.02, 0.01-0.03), and smaller total CSF (β=-0.02, -0.03 to -0.01), LV (β=-0.02, -0.03 to -0.01), and WMH (β=-0.01, -0.02 to -0.002) volumes compared with adults from LS7-Q1.

Conclusions:
Higher LS7 scores are associated with better brain MR outcomes and decreased age-related volumetric changes. 
10.1212/WNL.0000000000206591