Sex-Dependent Effects of Cardiometabolic Health and <i>APOE4</i> on Brain Age
Sivaniya Subramaniapillai, Louise S. Schindler, Paul Redmond, Mark E. Bastin, Joanna M. Wardlaw, María Valdés Hernández, Susana Muñoz Maniega, Benjamin S. Aribisala, Lars T. Westlye, William Coath, J. R. Groves, David M. Cash, Josephine Barnes, Sarah‐Naomi James, Carole H. Sudre, Frederik Barkhof, Marcus Richards, Janie Corley, Tom C. Russ, Simon R. Cox, Jonathan M. Schott, James H. Cole, Ann‐Marie G. de Lange
Abstract
The aging population is growing faster than all other demographic strata. With older age comes a greater risk of health conditions such as obesity and high blood pressure (BP). These cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRs) exhibit prominent sex differences in midlife and aging, yet their influence on brain health in females vs males is largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated sex differences in relationships between BP, body mass index (BMI), and brain age over time and tested for interactions with APOE ε4 genotype (APOE4), a known genetic risk factor of Alzheimer disease.