Men with heart disease face faster brain health decline compared to women

Men with high cardiovascular risk factors, such as obesity and high blood pressure, could face a brain health decline about a decade earlier, compared to women with similar risks, suggests a new study. The study conducted using the UK Biobank data has found that high cardiovascular risk factors are linked to accelerated brain volume loss, which affects the regions in the temporal lobe that are crucial for memory and sensory processing.

Researchers analyzed data from 34,425 participants aged between 45 and 82 in the UK Biobank, who had undergone abdominal and brain scans. The findings, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, suggest that higher levels of abdominal and visceral fat are associated with reduced grey matter volume in the brain for both men and women. However, the onset of neurodegeneration due to cardiovascular risk factors occurred about a decade earlier in men and persisted for two decades, when compared with women.

Professor Paul Edison of Imperial College London’s Department of Brain Sciences, who led the study, in a statement said, “It was important to learn that cardiovascular disease on dementia had such a profound influence in males a decade earlier than in females, and this was not previously known. This has significant implications for how we treat cardiovascular disease in men and women to prevent dementia in the future.”

Previous studies have found that cardiovascular risk factors including obesity are associated with an elevated risk of dementia development. However, the new study has revealed that “males are most susceptible to the detrimental influence of cardiovascular risk a decade earlier than females, with temporal lobe regions particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects.”

The researchers used the Framingham Risk Score to analyze cardiovascular risk, considering factors such as age, blood pressure, smoking, and diabetes. Brain changes were measured using voxel-based morphometry, a neuroimaging technique. They found out that the temporal lobes, which are critical for auditory processing, visual perception, emotional regulation, and memory, were the regions most affected. These functions are often the first to decline in early-stage dementia.

The new study also emphasizes the importance of managing cardiovascular risks, such as obesity, to prevent neurodegeneration.

Studies suggest that interventions before age 55 could be key to reducing the risk of conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and strokes.

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