Dataset Information

Differential Impact of Education on Gray Matter Volume According to Sex in Cognitively Normal Older Adults: Whole Brain Surface-Based Morphometry.

ABSTRACT: Background: The effect of educational status on brain structural measurements depends on demographic and clinical factors in cognitively healthy older adults. Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the impact of interaction between years of education and sex on gray matter volume and to investigate whether cortical volume has a differential impact on cognitive function according to sex. Methods: One hundred twenty-one subjects between 60 and 85 years old were included in this study. Gray matter volume was evaluated by whole brain surface-based morphometry. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the effects of sex-cortical volume interactions on cognitive functions. Results: There was a significant interaction between years of education and sex on the cortical volume of the left inferior temporal gyrus after adjusting for age, APOE ε4 allele prevalence, and total intracranial volume. In addition, we found a significant impact of the interaction between adjusted left inferior temporal volume and sex on CERAD-K total scores. Conclusion: These findings have significant implications for the understanding of how sex could affect the role of cognitive reserve for cortical atrophy in cognitively intact older adults.

SUBMITTER: Kang DW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7973038 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Differential Impact of Education on Gray Matter Volume According to Sex in Cognitively Normal Older Adults: Whole Brain Surface-Based Morphometry.

Kang Dong Woo DW Wang Sheng-Min SM Na Hae-Ran HR Kim Nak-Young NY Lim Hyun Kook HK Lee Chang Uk CU

Frontiers in psychiatry 20210305

Background: The effect of educational status on brain structural measurements depends on demographic and clinical factors in cognitively healthy older adults. Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the impact of interaction between years of education and sex on gray matter volume and to investigate whether cortical volume has a differential impact on cognitive function according to sex. Methods: One hundred twenty-one subjects between 60 and 85 years old were includ ...[more]

PMID: 33746800

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Project description:BackgroundMounting evidence links poor sleep quality with a higher risk of late-life dementia. However, the structural and cognitive correlates of insomnia are still not well understood. The study aims were to characterize the cognitive performance and brain structural pattern of cognitively unimpaired adults at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) with insomnia.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 1683 cognitively unimpaired middle/late-middle-aged adults from the ALFA (ALzheimer and FAmilies) study who underwent neuropsychological assessment, T1-weighted structural imaging (n = 366), and diffusion-weighted imaging (n = 334). The World Health Organization's World Mental Health Survey Initiative version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to define the presence or absence of insomnia. Multivariable regression models were used to evaluate differences in cognitive performance between individuals with and without insomnia, as well as potential interactions between insomnia and the APOE genotype. Voxel-based morphometry and tract-based spatial statistics were used to assess between-group differences and potential interactions between insomnia and the APOE genotype in gray matter volume and white matter diffusion metrics.ResultsInsomnia was reported by 615 out of 1683 participants (36.5%), including 137 out of 366 (37.4%) with T1-weighted structural imaging available and 119 out of 334 (35.6%) with diffusion-weighted imaging. Individuals with insomnia (n = 615) performed worse in executive function tests than non-insomniacs and displayed lower gray matter volume in left orbitofrontal and right middle temporal cortex, bilateral precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex and thalamus, higher gray matter volume in the left caudate nucleus, and widespread reduction of mean and axial diffusivity in right hemisphere white matter tracts. Insomnia interacted with the APOE genotype, with APOE-ε4 carriers displaying lower gray matter volumes when insomnia was present, but higher volumes when insomnia was not present, in several gray matter regions, including the left angular gyrus, the bilateral superior frontal gyri, the thalami, and the right hippocampus.ConclusionsInsomnia in cognitively unimpaired adults at increased risk for AD is associated to poorer performance in some executive functions and volume changes in cortical and subcortical gray matter, including key areas involved in Alzheimer's disease, as well as decreased white matter diffusivity.

Project description:Results from studies that have examined age-related changes in gray matter based on structural MRI scans have not always been consistent. Reasons for this variability likely include small or unevenly-distributed samples, different methods for tissue class segmentation and spatial normalization, and the use of different statistical models. Particularly relevant to the latter is the method of adjusting for global (total) gray matter when making inferences about regionally-specific changes. In the current study, we use voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to explore the impact of these methodological choices in assessing age-related changes in gray matter volume in a sample of 420 adults evenly distributed between the ages of 18-77 years. At a broad level, we replicate previous findings, showing age-related gray matter decline in nearly all parts of the brain, with particularly rapid decline in inferior regions of frontal cortex (e.g., insula and left inferior frontal gyrus) and the central sulcus. Segmentation was improved by increasing the number of tissue classes and using less age-biased templates, and registration was improved by using a diffeomorphic flow-based algorithm (DARTEL) rather than a "constrained warp" approach. Importantly, different approaches to adjusting for global effects--not adjusting, Local Covariation, Global Scaling, and Local Scaling--significantly affected regionally-specific estimates of age-related decline, as demonstrated by ranking age effects across anatomical ROIs. Split-half cross-validation showed that, on average, Local Covariation explained a greater proportion of age-related variance across these ROIs than did Global Scaling. Nonetheless, the appropriate choice for global adjustment depends on one's assumptions and specific research questions. More generally, these results emphasize the importance of being explicit about the assumptions underlying key methodological choices made in VBM analyses and the inferences that follow.

Dataset Information

Differential Impact of Education on Gray Matter Volume According to Sex in Cognitively Normal Older Adults: Whole Brain Surface-Based Morphometry.

Publications

Differential Impact of Education on Gray Matter Volume According to Sex in Cognitively Normal Older Adults: Whole Brain Surface-Based Morphometry.

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