Carotid Compliance and Parahippocampal and Hippocampal Volume over a 20-Year Period

• Main Authors: Hediyeh Baradaran, Alen Delic, J. Scott McNally, Matthew Alexander, Jennifer J. Majersik, Dennis L. Parker, Adam de Havenon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Karger Publishers 2021-09-01
• Series: Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra
• Subjects: brain imaging; cerebrovascular diseases; vascular causes of cognitive impairment
• Online Access: https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/518234

Introduction: We evaluated the association between carotid compliance, a measure of arterial stiffness, to parahippocampal volume (PHV) and hippocampal volume (HV) over 20 years later in the Atherosclerosis Risk in the Community study. Methods: We included participants with common carotid compliance measurements at visit 1 (1987–1989) and volumetric brain MRI at visit 5 (2011–2013). The primary outcomes are pooled bilateral PHV and HV. We performed linear regression models adjusting for age, sex, vascular risk factors, and total brain volume. Results: Of the 614 participants, higher compliance was correlated with higher PHV (R = 0.218[0.144–0.291], p < 0.001) and HV (R = 0.181 [0.105–0.255, p < 0.001]). The association was linear and significant after adjusting for confounders. At follow-up MRI, 30 patients with dementia had lower PHV and HV than patients without dementia (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: Carotid compliance is associated with higher PHV and HV when measured 20 years later, further supporting the link between arterial stiffness and cognitive decline.