Scientists find link between cardiovascular health and age of brain

By estimating the age of people's brains from MRI scans using machine learning, a team of researchers led by UCLA scientists identified many risk factors for premature brain aging.

They found that worse cardiovascular health at age 36 predicts a higher brain age later in life. At the same time, men were found to have older brains than women of the same age, The Lancet Healthy Longevity writes.

Researchers found that aging brains were associated with slightly worse cognitive test scores, which also predicted increased brain size (atrophy) over the next two years.

The researchers applied an MRI-based machine learning model they developed to estimate the age of the brains of participants in the Alzheimer's Research UK-funded Insight 46 study, led by Professor Jonathan Schott. 

All participants were between the ages of 69 and 72, but their estimated brain ages ranged from 46 to 93.

People with worse cardiovascular health at age 36 or 69 had worse brain health, as did those with cerebrovascular disease (related to blood flow and blood vessels in the brain) on MRI. This is consistent with a previous study by Professor Schott, which found that high blood pressure at age 36 predicted poorer brain health later in life.

Researchers also found that higher brain age was associated with higher concentrations of neurofilament light protein (NfL) in the blood. Increased NfL levels are thought to be due to nerve cell damage and are increasingly recognized as a significant marker of neurodegeneration.

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