Combining lifestyle risks to disentangle brain structure and functional connectivity differences in older adults.
Nora BittnerChristiane JockwitzThomas W MühleisenFelix HoffstaedterSimon B EickhoffSusanne MoebusUte J BayenSven CichonKarl ZillesKatrin AmuntsSvenja CaspersPublished in: Nature communications (2019)
Lifestyle contributes to inter-individual variability in brain aging, but previous studies focused on the effects of single lifestyle variables. Here, we studied the combined and individual contributions of four lifestyle variables - alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, and social integration - to brain structure and functional connectivity in a population-based cohort of 549 older adults. A combined lifestyle risk score was associated with decreased gyrification in left premotor and right prefrontal cortex, and higher functional connectivity to sensorimotor and prefrontal cortex. While structural differences were driven by alcohol consumption, physical activity, and social integration, higher functional connectivity was driven by smoking. Results suggest that combining differentially contributing lifestyle variables may be more than the sum of its parts. Associations generally were neither altered by adjustment for genetic risk, nor by depressive symptomatology or education, underlining the relevance of daily habits for brain health.
Keyphrases
- resting state
- functional connectivity
- physical activity
- alcohol consumption
- prefrontal cortex
- metabolic syndrome
- healthcare
- weight loss
- cardiovascular disease
- body mass index
- mental health
- public health
- sleep quality
- depressive symptoms
- white matter
- risk assessment
- multiple sclerosis
- gene expression
- social media
- subarachnoid hemorrhage