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Good CV health in young adults leads to bigger brain volume

People who keep their hearts healthy when they are in their late teens and 20s, may have larger brains in their 40s and 50s, according to findings recently published in Neurology.

“The [cardiovascular health (CVH)] profile integral to maintaining healthy brain structure is not well-understood,” Michael P. Bancks, PhD, of Northwestern University, and colleagues wrote. “Our objective was to assess the association between CVH during young adulthood and brain structure in middle adulthood.”

Researchers gave 518 participants between 18 and 30 years of age scores of 0, 1, or 2 for each criterion of the American Heart Association’s Life Simple 7 approach. According to the AHA’s website, this metric consists of ceasing smoking, consuming better foods, eliminating excessive weight, engaging in activities, lowering blood sugar and maintaining healthy BP and cholesterol levels to improve health. Zero was the lowest possible score.

According to researchers, tests done at baseline showed that 5% of the participants had CVH scores of 0 to 7, 62% had CVH scores of 8 to 11, and 33% had CVH score of 12 to 14.

Twenty-five years later, Bancks and colleagues reported that 26% of the participants had CVH scores of 0 to 7, 58% had scores of 8 to 11, and 16% had scores of 12 to 14. This score was evaluated as it applied to percent of intracranial volume of normal tissue of the whole brain, gray matter and white matter, and abnormal tissue volume of white matter. Researchers adjusted data for age, alcohol consumption, educational level achieved, field center, race and sex.

Researchers found that at year 25, the percentage of whole brain volume was 81.3%, normal gray matter was 42.9% and normal white matter was 38.4%. They also observed that a higher CVH score at baseline for each additional point at baseline (0.1%; 95% CI, 0.01–0.3; P < .05) and average CVH score were associated with greater percentage of whole brain volume (per each additional point in average score: 0.2%; 95% CI, 0.04–0.3; P < 0.05). In addition, average, visit-based or CVH score was not significantly connected to normal gray or white matter volume or abnormal white matter volume.

“[This] study suggests individuals with better CVH in young adulthood have greater [whole brain volume] in middle adulthood. This underscores the importance of achieving AHA 2020 Goals and Beyond and maintaining ideal CVH at a young age and favorable cerebral structure in later adulthood,” Bancks and colleagues wrote. “Our findings support strategies in achieving for improving and maintaining global health including CVH and promoting healthy brain aging for individuals in young adulthood.” – by Janel Miller