New research shows that older adults who maintain strong cardiovascular health, fewer signs of brain generation-wedings hope is applied to prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s life.
Study: Cardiovascular health and biomarkers of neurodegenerative disease in older adults. Image Credit: Crystal Light / Shutterstock.com
A recent Jama Network Open Study is investigating the relationship between cardiovascular health (CVH) and biomarkers of neurodegenerative disease.
The role of CVH in the risk of neurodegenerative diseases
The American Heart Association developed Life’s Simple 7, a tool with seven items to support CVH in the general population by improving physical fitness and food quality, maintaining a normal body mass index (BMI) and managing diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypertension. People with a higher life with simple 7 score show an optimal CVH and have a reduced risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease (CVD).
CVDs and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease share different common risk factors, some of which include hypertension, hyperlipidemia, metabolic syndrome and cigarette smoking. For comparison: optimum CVH can reduce the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases by slowing down the speed of cognitive decline and reducing the volumes of the white substance hyperintensity.
About the study
The current study is investigating whether CVH influences various biomarkers of neurodegenerative processes, including serum mirrors of Neuroilament-Light Chain (NFL) and Totaal Tau (T-Tau). The measured also longitudinal changes in these biomark levels for a period of 10 years to determine whether these changes vary between black and white individuals.
Data was taken over from the Chicago Health and Aging Project (Chap) Research, a population -based study that identifies risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, cognitive impairment and other types of dementia. The main cohort consisted of 10,802 black and white American people who were 65 or older on the south side of Chicago. Demographic data, medical history and serum monsters were collected every three years between 1993 and 2012.
A total of 5,470 participants from the main cohort were selected on the basis of their willingness to provide serum monsters. Among these people, 1,327 samples were randomly selected to measure NFL and T-TAU levels.
The CVH score was developed with the help of the Simple 7 tool of life, with different parameters, including BMI, diet, physical activity, diabetes, smoking status, dyslipidemia and hypertension. Each participant in the study received a score of zero, one or two based on their compliance with the seven cardiovascular health factors.
CVH scores varied from zero and 14 points, with higher scores that reflect superior CVH.
Study findings
A total of 1,018 main study participants were selected for the final analysis. The average age of this cohort was 73.1 years, 61.4% of those who were female, 59.9% were black and 40.1% was white.
Most participants in the study with a high CVH score between 10 and 14 points were white or reported higher education. About 34.6% of the participants in the study were carriers of at least one apolipoprotein E4 (Apoe E4) Allele, which reflects a genetic predisposition for the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
A higher CVH score was associated with lower serum concentrations of NFL, with a single point increase from CVH scores associated with significantly lower serum levels from NFL. In comparison with participants in the study with CVH scores between zero and 6, people with high CVH scores were more likely to have considerably lower levels of NFL. No connection was observed between CVH and Serum T-TAU concentrations observed for every increase in one point in the CVH score.
Higher CVH scores were statistically associated with a reduction in the NFL levels at Apoe Only E4 carriers. These observed associations between CVH and NFL were not dependent on race.
Baseline CVD had no influence on the association between CVH scores and NFL levels. In particular, higher CVH scores were associated with a lower annual increase in NFL levels as the participants get older. However, the CVH score had no influence on the annual changes in T-TAU concentrations.
Serum NFL and T-TAU levels on CVH score series were also measured during the Follow-Up period of 10 years. To this end, people with the lowest CVH scores had an annual increase in the NFL levels by 7.1%, while with the highest CVH scores, an annual increase in the NFL rates by 5.2%showed.
Conclusions
Older people with a better CVH had lower serum concentrations of NFL, regardless of age, gender and race. For people who Apoe E4 -Allel, a larger CVH score was significantly associated with lower levels of NFL.
These findings emphasize the importance of maintaining optimum CVH to reduce the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases. This is especially important in black adults, who often run a greater risk of developing CVDs.
Promoting CVH in older adults can help reduce the burden of neurodegenerative diseases. “