Dataset Information

Association of liver fibrosis with cognitive test performance and brain imaging parameters in the UK Biobank study.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

We hypothesized that liver fibrosis is associated with worse cognitive performance and corresponding brain imaging changes.

Methods

We examined the association of liver fibrosis with cognition and brain imaging parameters in the UK Biobank study. Liver fibrosis was assessed using the Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score. The primary cognitive outcome was the digit symbol substitution test (DSST); secondary outcomes were additional executive function/processing speed and memory tests. Imaging outcomes were hippocampal, total brain, and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volumes.

Results

We included 105,313 participants with cognitive test data, and 41,982 with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In adjusted models, liver fibrosis was associated with worse performance on the DSST and tests of executive function but not memory. Liver fibrosis was associated with lower hippocampal and total brain volumes, without compelling association with WMH volume.

Discussion

Liver fibrosis is associated with worse performance on select cognitive tests and lower hippocampal and total brain volumes.

Highlights

It is increasingly recognized that chronic liver conditions impact brain health. We performed an analysis of data from the UK Biobank prospective cohort study. Liver fibrosis was associated with worse performance on executive function tests. Liver fibrosis was not associated with memory impairment. Liver fibrosis was associated with lower hippocampal and total brain volumes.

SUBMITTER: Parikh NS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10033462 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Association of liver fibrosis with cognitive test performance and brain imaging parameters in the UK Biobank study.

Parikh Neal S NS Kamel Hooman H Zhang Cenai C Gupta Ajay A Cohen David E DE de Leon Mony J MJ Gottesman Rebecca F RF Iadecola Costantino C

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association 20220923 4

<h4>Introduction</h4>We hypothesized that liver fibrosis is associated with worse cognitive performance and corresponding brain imaging changes.<h4>Methods</h4>We examined the association of liver fibrosis with cognition and brain imaging parameters in the UK Biobank study. Liver fibrosis was assessed using the Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score. The primary cognitive outcome was the digit symbol substitution test (DSST); secondary outcomes were additional executive function/processing speed and memory te ...[more]

PMID: 36149265

Similar Datasets

Project description:Sarcopenia refers to age-related loss of muscle mass and function and is related to impaired somatic and brain health, including cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. However, the relationships between sarcopenia, brain structure and cognition are poorly understood. Here, we investigate the associations between sarcopenic traits, brain structure and cognitive performance. We included 33 709 UK Biobank participants (54.2% female; age range 44-82 years) with structural and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging, thigh muscle fat infiltration (n = 30 561) from whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (muscle quality indicator) and general cognitive performance as indicated by the first principal component of a principal component analysis across multiple cognitive tests (n = 22 530). Of these, 1703 participants qualified for probable sarcopenia based on low handgrip strength, and we assigned the remaining 32 006 participants to the non-sarcopenia group. We used multiple linear regression to test how sarcopenic traits (probable sarcopenia versus non-sarcopenia and percentage of thigh muscle fat infiltration) relate to cognitive performance and brain structure (cortical thickness and area, white matter fractional anisotropy and deep and lower brain volumes). Next, we used structural equation modelling to test whether brain structure mediated the association between sarcopenic and cognitive traits. We adjusted all statistical analyses for confounders. We show that sarcopenic traits (probable sarcopenia versus non-sarcopenia and muscle fat infiltration) are significantly associated with lower cognitive performance and various brain magnetic resonance imaging measures. In probable sarcopenia, for the included brain regions, we observed widespread significant lower white matter fractional anisotropy (77.1% of tracts), predominantly lower regional brain volumes (61.3% of volumes) and thinner cortical thickness (37.9% of parcellations), with |r| effect sizes in (0.02, 0.06) and P-values in (0.0002, 4.2e-29). In contrast, we observed significant associations between higher muscle fat infiltration and widespread thinner cortical thickness (76.5% of parcellations), lower white matter fractional anisotropy (62.5% of tracts) and predominantly lower brain volumes (35.5% of volumes), with |r| effect sizes in (0.02, 0.07) and P-values in (0.0002, 1.9e-31). The regions showing the most significant effect sizes across the cortex, white matter and volumes were of the sensorimotor system. Structural equation modelling analysis revealed that sensorimotor brain regions mediate the link between sarcopenic and cognitive traits [probable sarcopenia: P-values in (0.0001, 1.0e-11); muscle fat infiltration: P-values in (7.7e-05, 1.7e-12)]. Our findings show significant associations between sarcopenic traits, brain structure and cognitive performance in a middle-aged and older adult population. Mediation analyses suggest that regional brain structure mediates the association between sarcopenic and cognitive traits, with potential implications for dementia development and prevention.

Project description:ObjectiveThe relationship between insomnia symptoms and cognitive performance is unclear, particularly at the population level. We conducted the largest examination of this association to date through analysis of the UK Biobank, a large population-based sample of adults aged 40-69 years. We also sought to determine associations between cognitive performance and self-reported chronotype, sleep medication use and sleep duration.MethodsThis cross-sectional, population-based study involved 477,529 participants, comprising 133,314 patients with frequent insomnia symptoms (age: 57.4 ± 7.7 years; 62.1% female) and 344,215 controls without insomnia symptoms (age: 56.1 ± 8.2 years; 52.0% female). Cognitive performance was assessed by a touchscreen test battery probing reasoning, basic reaction time, numeric memory, visual memory, and prospective memory. Adjusted models included relevant demographic, clinical, and sleep variables.ResultsFrequent insomnia symptoms were associated with cognitive impairment in unadjusted models; however, these effects were reversed after full adjustment, leaving those with frequent insomnia symptoms showing statistically better cognitive performance over those without. Relative to intermediate chronotype, evening chronotype was associated with superior task performance, while morning chronotype was associated with the poorest performance. Sleep medication use and both long (>9 h) and short (<7 h) sleep durations were associated with impaired performance.ConclusionsOur results suggest that after adjustment for potential confounding variables, frequent insomnia symptoms may be associated with a small statistical advantage, which is unlikely to be clinically meaningful, on simple neurocognitive tasks. Further work is required to examine the mechanistic underpinnings of an apparent evening chronotype advantage in cognitive performance and the impairment associated with morning chronotype, sleep medication use, and sleep duration extremes.

Dataset Information

Association of liver fibrosis with cognitive test performance and brain imaging parameters in the UK Biobank study.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Discussion

Highlights

Publications

Association of liver fibrosis with cognitive test performance and brain imaging parameters in the UK Biobank study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets