Worse Cardiovascular Health Correlates with Raised Biomarkers of Neurodegeneration
At this point it is well established that cardiovascular aging correlates with neurodegenerative disease. Even setting aside the point that varied age-related diseases arise from common forms of underlying damage and so tend to loosely correlate with one another, we should note that the brain has high energy requirements. Any sustained reduction in the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to brain tissue via cerebral blood flow, resulting from loss of capillary density, other aspects of cerebral small vessel disease, and heart failure, for example, will contribute to existing issues. Researchers here add to the existing evidence, demonstrating that measures of cardiovascular health correlate with increased levels of established biomarkers of neurodegeneration.
The American Heart Association developed a 7-item tool, Life's Simple 7, to promote cardiovascular health (CVH) in the general population. Life's Simple 7 comprises lifestyle and vascular risk factors, including not smoking; maintaining a normal body mass index (BMI); engaging in regular physical activity; consuming a healthy diet; and managing dyslipidemia, diabetes, and hypertension. An optimal CVH characterized by a higher Life's Simple 7 score is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Cardiovascular health (CVH) has been associated with a low risk of Alzheimer disease and less vascular dementia. However, the association between CVH and biomarkers of neurodegeneration remains less understood. This study investigate the association of CVH, assessed by Life's Simple 7 score, with serum biomarkers of neurodegeneration, including neurofilament light chain (NfL) and total tau (t-tau). This cohort study was conducted within the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP) of adults aged 65 years or older between 1993 and 2012. Participants who had measured serum NfL and t-tau levels and data on all components of the CVH score were included.
A total of 1,018 CHAP participants were included in the analysis (mean age, 73.1 ± 6.1 years). Compared with participants with low CVH scores (0-6 points), those with high CVH scores (10-14 points) had significantly lower serum levels of NfL (relative difference, -18.9%). A higher CVH score was associated with a slower annual increase in NfL levels as participants aged (relative difference in rate, -1.7%). Cardiovascular health was not associated with serum levels of t-tau. These findings suggest that promoting CVH in older adults may help alleviate the burden of neurodegenerative diseases.