2023 American Academy of Neurology Abstract Website

Gabriela Trifan¹, Ariana Stickel³, Jianwen Cai⁴, Martha Daviglus⁵, Mayra Estrella⁵, Olga Garcia-Bedoya², Linda Gallo⁶, Carmen Isasi⁷, Robert Kaplan⁷, Melissa Lamar⁸, Gregory Talavera⁶, Wassim Tarraf⁹, Donglin Zeng⁴, Hector González³, Charles DeCarli¹⁰, Fernando Testai¹
¹Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine, ²Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine, ³University of California, ⁴University of North Carolina, ⁵Institute for Minority Health Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine, ⁶San Diego State University, ⁷Albert Einstein College of Medicine, ⁸Rush University Medical Center, ⁹Wayne State University, ¹⁰University of California at Davis

Objective:

Investigate the associations of LS7 with brain volumes, measured by MRI, in Hispanic/Latino adults.

Background:

The Life’s Simple 7 (LS7) score includes not smoking, adequate weight and physical activity, a healthy dietary pattern, and controlled blood pressure, total cholesterol, and fasting serum glucose. Higher LS7 scores are associated with better cognitive function.

Design/Methods:

Participants (n=2109; mean age 67.7 years) 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 (range: 0-14) was categorized into quartiles (Q) with higher scores representing better cardiovascular health. MRI outcomes across LS7 quartiles were investigated using linear regression analysis weighted and accounted for complex survey design and adjusted for baseline characteristics. In an exploratory analysis, we also explored if LS7 modified brain volume-age associations.

Results:

The mean±SD LS7 score was 8.32±2.21. In the fully adjusted model, individuals in Q4 (versus Q1) had larger total brain (β=0.25, 95% CI=0.04, 0.46), total white matter (β=0.22, 95% CI=0.06, 0.37), and total grey (β=0.21, 95% CI=0.07, 0.36) volumes and smaller total CSF (β=-0.28, 95% CI=-0.44, -0.12) and WMH (β=-0.27, 95% CI=-0.45, -0.09) volumes. Test for interaction showed less pronounced age-related MRI changes among individuals in Q4 (versus Q1) for total brain (β=0.004, 95% CI=0.0003, 0.007), total white (β=0.004, 95% CI=0.001, 0 .006), total grey (β=0.003, 95% CI=0.001, 0.005), total CSF (β=-0.004, 95% CI=-0.007, -0.002), LV (β=-0.004, 95% CI=-0.008, 0.001), and WMH (β=-0.004, 95% CI=-0.007, -0.001) volumes.

Conclusions:

The highest LS7 quartile was associated with better brain MR imaging outcomes and lower cross-sectional age-related volumetric changes among Hispanic/Latino adults.