Lifecourse CVD Risk and Midlife Cognitive Trajectories and Brain Aging: Implications for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Prevention

Determinants
of cognitive aging may begin decades prior to the development of pathological
brain changes, but it is unknown whether risk factors such as hypertension
and diabetes exert their influence as early as young adulthood. In this
CARDIA Year 35 ancillary study, we plan to expand cognitive testing to assess
10-year cognitive change and address: 1) independent associations of 10-year
midlife cognitive decline with average level and trend in cardiovascular
disease (CVD) risk factors including BMI, blood pressure, and fasting
glucose, assessed over 35 years from young adulthood to midlife; 2)
association of 10-year midlife cognitive decline with level and trend in
subclinical CVD markers derived from carotid ultrasound, coronary CT, and
echocardiography; and 3) whether CVD risk factors and subclinical CVD markers
are associated with brain aging indices in midlife, derived from brain MRI
data obtained on 700 CARDIA participants at Year 30.

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