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Fatih N, Chaturvedi N, Lane CA, Parker TD, Lu K, Cash DM, Malone IB, Silverwood R, Wong A, Barnes J, Sudre CH, Richards M, Fox NC, Schott JM, Hughes A, James SN. Sex-related differences in whole brain volumes at age 70 in association with hyperglycemia during adult life. Neurobiol Aging 2022; 112:161-169. [PMID: 35183802 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2021.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Revised: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Longitudinal studies of the relationship between hyperglycemia and brain health are rare and there is limited information on sex differences in associations. We investigated whether glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) measured at ages of 53, 60-64 and 69 years, and cumulative glycemic index (CGI), a measure of cumulative glycemic burden, were associated with metrics of brain health in later life. Participants were from Insight 46, a substudy of the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD) who undertook volumetric MRI, florbetapir amyloid-PET imaging and cognitive assessments at ages of 69-71. Analyses were performed using linear and logistic regression as appropriate, with adjustment for potential confounders. We observed a sex interaction between HbA1c and whole brain volume (WBV) at all 3 time points. Following stratification of our sample, we observed that HbA1c at all ages, and CGI were positively associated with lower WBV exclusively in females. HbA1c (or CGI) was not associated with amyloid status, white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), hippocampal volumes (HV) or cognitive outcomes in either sex. Higher HbA1c in adulthood is associated with smaller WBV at 69-71 years in females but not in males. This suggests that there may be preferential target organ damage in the brain for females with hyperglycemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasrtullah Fatih
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Nish Chaturvedi
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher A Lane
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas D Parker
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Kirsty Lu
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - David M Cash
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ian B Malone
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Silverwood
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew Wong
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Josephine Barnes
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Carole H Sudre
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Marcus Richards
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Nick C Fox
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan M Schott
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alun Hughes
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah-Naomi James
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Department of Population Science & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, Faculty of Population Health Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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