Introduction: Neighborhood disadvantage may be an important determinant of cardiometabolic health and cognitive aging. However, less is known about relationships among individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Methods: The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage measured by national Area Deprivation Index (ADI) rank with measures of cardiometabolic health and cognition among Wake Forest (WF) Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) participants, with and without MCI.
Introduction: The U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk (U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Multidomain lifestyle interventions may have the potential to slow biological aging as captured by deficit accumulation frailty indices. We describe the distribution and composition of the 49-component frailty index (FI) developed by the U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDeclining physical function with aging is associated with structural and functional brain network organization. Gaining a greater understanding of network associations may be useful for targeting interventions that are designed to slow or prevent such decline. Our previous work demonstrated that the Short Physical Performance Battery (eSPPB) score and body mass index (BMI) exhibited a statistical interaction in their associations with connectivity in the sensorimotor cortex (SMN) and the dorsal attention network (DAN).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRetinal vessel calibers share anatomic and physiologic characteristics with the cerebral vasculature and can be visualized noninvasively. In light of the known microvascular contributions to brain health and cognitive function, we aimed to determine if, in a community based-study, retinal vessel calibers and change in caliber over 8 years are associated with cognitive function or trajectory. Participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort who completed cognitive testing at Exam 5 (2010-2012) and had retinal vascular caliber measurements (Central Retinal Artery and Vein Equivalents; CRAE and CRVE) at Exam 2 (2002-2004) and Exam 5 were included.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Longer effects of multivitamin-mineral (MVM) supplementation on late-life cognitive function remain untested using in-person, detailed neuropsychological assessments. Furthermore, insufficient evidence exists for healthcare providers to recommend daily MVM supplements to prevent cognitive decline.
Objectives: This study aimed to test MVM effects on cognitive change using in-person, detailed neuropsychological assessments and conduct a meta-analysis within COSMOS (COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study) cognitive substudies for a robust evaluation of MVM effects on cognition.
The Black Men's Health Forum, a 6-week online health education intervention for African American men and accountability partners of African American men, was conducted to increase awareness of health issues that disproportionately affect African American men. In this article, we describe the intervention and report on the immediate benefits of the intervention, including changes in health knowledge and perception of research participation. Participants completed a pre-evaluation prior to participating in the forum and a post-evaluation after each session to capture data on sociodemographic information, medical history, health knowledge, and health behaviors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The U.S. study to protect brain health through lifestyle intervention to reduce risk (U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDeficits in physical function that occur with aging contribute to declines in quality of life and increased mortality. There has been a growing interest in examining associations between physical function and neurobiology. Whereas high levels of white matter disease have been found in individuals with mobility impairments in structural brain studies, much less is known about the relationship between physical function and functional brain networks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: We assessed the effects of multivitamin-mineral and cocoa extract supplementation on incident mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and all-cause probable dementia.
Methods: COSMOS-Mind (N = 2262), a 2 × 2 factorial, randomized-controlled clinical trial administered a telephone-based cognitive battery at baseline and annually for 3 years. Incidence rates of MCI, and separately dementia, were compared among treatment arms with proportional hazards regression.
Background: To evaluate whether contrast sensitivity is associated with lower extremity physical function in cognitively intact older adults.
Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of the relationship of binocular and worse eye log contrast sensitivity (LCS) to expanded Short Physical Performance Battery (eSPPB) and its components (gait speed, narrow walking speed, chair stand pace, and balance) in 192 cognitively healthy older adults. The association of LCS with postural sway and gait was also tested with tasks that further challenged functional reserve.
Introduction: Post-mortem analysis provides definitive diagnoses of neurodegenerative diseases; however, only a few can be diagnosed during life.
Methods: This study employed statistical tools and machine learning to predict 17 neuropathologic lesions from a cohort of 6518 individuals using 381 clinical features (Table S1). The multisite data allowed validation of the model's robustness by splitting train/test sets by clinical sites.
Accurate measurement of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology in older adults without significant clinical impairment is critical to assessing intervention strategies aimed at slowing AD-related cognitive decline. The U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cardiometabolic disorders (hypertension, diabetes) are key modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. They often co-occur; yet, the extent to which they independently affect brain structure and function is unclear.
Objective: We hypothesized their combined effect is greater in associations with cognitive function and neuroimaging biomarkers of white matter (WM) health and cerebral perfusion in a diverse older adult cohort.
Introduction: Sleep and diet are modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD) that may be salient areas for the development of preventive intervention strategies against dementia in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Sleep disturbances account for up to 15% of the population attributable risk for AD. Diet influences sleep quality, such that diets high in sugars, fat, and processed food affect sleep quality and cognition in older adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Dietary supplements are touted for cognitive protection, but supporting evidence is mixed. COSMOS-Mind tested whether daily administration of cocoa extract (containing 500 mg/day flavanols) versus placebo and a commercial multivitamin-mineral (MVM) versus placebo improved cognition in older women and men.
Methods: COSMOS-Mind, a large randomized two-by-two factorial 3-year trial, assessed cognition by telephone at baseline and annually.
The WHI (Women's Health Initiative) enrolled 161,808 racially and ethnically diverse postmenopausal women, ages 50-79 years, from 1993 to 1998 at 40 clinical centers across the United States. In its clinical trial component, WHI evaluated 3 randomized interventions (menopausal hormone therapy; diet modification; and calcium/vitamin D supplementation) for the primary prevention of major chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, in older women. In the WHI observational study, numerous clinical, behavioral, and social factors have been evaluated as predictors of incident chronic disease and mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimers Dement (Amst)
July 2022
Introduction: Arterial stiffness may play a role in the development of dementia through poorly understood effects on brain microstructural integrity and perfusion.
Methods: We examined markers of arterial stiffness (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity [cfPWV]) and elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP) in relation to cognitive function and brain magnetic resonance imaging macrostructure (gray matter [GM] and white matter [WM] volumes), microstructure (diffusion based free water [FW] and fractional anisotropy [FA]), and cerebral blood flow (CBF) in WM and GM in models adjusted for age, race, sex, education, and apolipoprotein E ε4 status.
Results: Among 460 participants (70 ± 8 years; 44 dementia, 158 mild cognitive impairment, 258 normal cognition), higher cfPWV and SBP were independently associated with higher FW, higher WM hyperintensity volume, and worse cognition (global and executive function).
Background: The association of cognitive function with symptoms of psychological distress during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic or adherence to COVID-19 protective health behaviors is not well-understood.
Methods: We examined 2 890 older women from the Women's Health Initiative cohort. Prepandemic (ie, within 12 months prior to pandemic onset) and peripandemic global cognitive function scores were assessed with the modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-m).
Background: Identification of factors that may help to preserve cognitive function in late life could elucidate mechanisms and facilitate interventions to improve the lives of millions of people. However, the large number of potential factors associated with cognitive function poses an analytical challenge.
Objective: We used data from the longitudinal Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS) and machine learning to investigate 50 demographic, biomedical, behavioral, social, and psychological predictors of preserved cognitive function in later life.
Background: Exploration of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amino acids and the impact of dietary intake on central levels may provide a comprehensive understanding of the metabolic component of Alzheimer's disease.
Objective: The objective of this exploratory study was to investigate the effects of two diets with varied nutrient compositions on change in CSF amino acids levels in adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and normal cognition (NC). Secondary objectives were to assess the correlations between the change in CSF amino acids and change in Alzheimer's disease biomarkers.
Introduction: Mid-life dietary patterns are associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk, although few controlled trials have been conducted.
Methods: Eighty-seven participants (age range: 45 to 65) with normal cognition (NC, n = 56) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 31) received isocaloric diets high or low in saturated fat, glycemic index, and sodium (Western-like/West-diet vs. Mediterranean-like/Med-diet) for 4 weeks.
Introduction: Effective strategies to recruit older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) into nonpharmacological intervention trials are lacking.
Methods: Recruitment for EXERT, a multisite randomized controlled 18-month trial examining the effects of aerobic exercise on cognitive trajectory in adults with amnestic MCI, involved a diverse portfolio of strategies to enroll 296 participants.
Results: Recruitment occurred September 2016 through March 2020 and was initially slow.