Brain tissue properties link cardio-vascular risk factors, mood and cognitive performance in the CoLaus|PsyCoLaus epidemiological cohort

Highlights

• We acquired lifestyle and brain imaging data in a large cohort (n>1200, 45-86 yrs).

• We used multi-parameter MRI sensitive to brain tissue properties.

• There was a strong link between cardio-vascular risk factors and brain health.

• Lifetime major depressive disorder modulated the impact of cardio-vascular risk.

• Depression, anxiety and cognitive scores correlate with limbic areas' anatomy.

Abstract

Given the controversy about the impact of modifiable risk factors on mood and cognition in ageing, we sought to investigate the associations between cardio-vascular risk, mental health, cognitive performance and brain anatomy in mid- to old age. We analyzed a set of risk factors together with multi-parameter magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the CoLaus|PsyCoLaus cohort (n > 1200). Cardio-vascular risk was associated with differences in brain tissue properties – myelin, free tissue water, iron content – and regional brain volumes that we interpret in the context of micro-vascular hypoxic lesions and neurodegeneration. The interaction between clinical subtypes of major depressive disorder and cardio-vascular risk factors showed differential associations with brain structure depending on individuals’ lifetime trajectory. There was a negative correlation between melancholic depression, anxiety and MRI markers of myelin and iron content in the hippocampus and anterior cingulate. Verbal memory and verbal fluency performance were positively correlated with left amygdala volumes. The concomitant analysis of brain morphometry and tissue properties allowed for a neuro-biological interpretation of the link between modifiable risk factors and brain health.