Brain artery diameters and risk of dementia and stroke

Jesus D Melgarejo; Kursat Gurel; Cassidy Rose Compton; Minghua Liu; Vanessa Guzman; Stephanie Assuras; Bonnie E Levin; Mitchell S V Elkind; M Kamran Ikram; Maryam Kavousi; M Arfan Ikram; Clinton Wright; Fabrice Crivello; Alexandre Laurent; Christophe Tzourio; Meike W Vernooij; Tatjana Rundek; Zhen-Yu Zhang; Daniel Bos; Jose Gutierrez

doi:10.1002/alz.13712

Brain artery diameters and risk of dementia and stroke

Alzheimers Dement. 2024 Apr;20(4):2497-2507. doi: 10.1002/alz.13712. Epub 2024 Feb 8.

Authors

Jesus D Melgarejo^{1

2

3}, Kursat Gurel⁴, Cassidy Rose Compton⁴, Minghua Liu⁴, Vanessa Guzman⁴, Stephanie Assuras⁴, Bonnie E Levin⁵, Mitchell S V Elkind^{4

6}, M Kamran Ikram^{1

7}, Maryam Kavousi¹, M Arfan Ikram¹, Clinton Wright⁸, Fabrice Crivello⁹, Alexandre Laurent⁹, Christophe Tzourio¹⁰, Meike W Vernooij^{1

11}, Tatjana Rundek¹², Zhen-Yu Zhang², Daniel Bos^{1

2

11}, Jose Gutierrez⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
² Studies Coordinating Centre, Research Unit Hypertension and Cardiovascular Epidemiology, KU Leuven Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
³ Institute of Neuroscience, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Harlingen, Texas, USA.
⁴ Department of Neurology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
⁵ Department of Neurology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
⁷ Department of Neurology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
⁸ National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
⁹ Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases, UMR5293, Neurofunctional Imaging Group, Bordeaux, France.
¹⁰ Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, Inserm, University Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.
¹¹ Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
¹² Department of Public Health Sciences and Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA.

Abstract

Introduction: We tested the association of brain artery diameters with dementia and stroke risk in three distinct population-based studies using conventional T2-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images.

Methods: We included 8420 adults > 40 years old from three longitudinal population-based studies with brain MRI scans. We estimated and meta-analyzed the hazard ratios (HRs) of the brain and carotids and basilar diameters associated with dementia and stroke.

Result: Overall and carotid artery diameters > 95th percentile increased the risk for dementia by 1.74 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13-2.68) and 1.48 (95% CI, 1.12-1.96) fold, respectively. For stroke, meta-analyses yielded HRs of 1.59 (95% CI, 1.04-2.42) for overall arteries and 2.11 (95% CI, 1.45-3.08) for basilar artery diameters > 95th percentile.

Discussion: Individuals with dilated brain arteries are at higher risk for dementia and stroke, across distinct populations. Our findings underline the potential value of T2-weighted brain MRI-based brain diameter assessment in estimating the risk of dementia and stroke.

Keywords: brain artery diameter; dementia; magnetic resonance imaging; population‐based science; stroke.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Basilar Artery
Brain / blood supply
Brain / diagnostic imaging
Dementia* / complications
Dementia* / diagnostic imaging
Dementia* / epidemiology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Risk Factors
Stroke* / complications
Stroke* / diagnostic imaging
Stroke* / epidemiology

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding