Resistance to developing brain pathology due to vascular risk factors: the role of educational attainment

Joyce van Arendonk; Pinar Yilmaz; Rebecca Steketee; Jendé L. Zijlmans; Sander Lamballais; Wiro J. Niessen; Julia Neitzel; M. Arfan Ikram; Meike W. Vernooij

doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2021.06.006

Resistance to developing brain pathology due to vascular risk factors: the role of educational attainment

Joyce van Arendonk, Pinar Yilmaz, Rebecca Steketee, Jendé L. Zijlmans, Sander Lamballais, Wiro J. Niessen, Julia Neitzel, M. Arfan Ikram, Meike W. Vernooij^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Brain pathology develops at different rates between individuals with similar burden of risk factors, possibly explained by brain resistance. We examined if education contributes to brain resistance by studying its influence on the association between vascular risk factors and brain pathology. In 4111 stroke-free and dementia-free community-dwelling participants (62.9 ± 10.7 years), we explored the association between vascular risk factors (hypertension and the Framingham Stroke Risk Profile [FRSP]) and imaging markers of brain pathology (markers of cerebral small vessel disease and brain volumetry), stratified by educational attainment level. Associations of hypertension and FSRP with markers of brain pathology were not significantly different between levels of educational attainment. Certain associations appeared weaker in those with higher compared to lower educational attainment, particularly for white matter hyperintensities (WMH). Supplementary residual analyses showed significant associations between higher educational attainment and stronger resistance to WMH among others. Our results suggest a role for educational attainment in resistance to vascular brain pathology. Yet, further research is needed to better characterize determinants of brain resistance.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	197-206
Number of pages	10
Journal	Neurobiology of Aging
Volume	106
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2021.06.006
Publication status	Published - 1 Oct 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The Rotterdam Study is funded by Erasmus Medical Center and Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands Organization for the Health Research and Development (ZonMw), the Research Institute for Diseases in the Elderly (RIDE), the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Sports, the European Commission (DG XII), and the Municipality of Rotterdam. This project was supported by a ZonMw Memorabel grant [project no 733050817].

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© 2021 The Author(s)

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title = "Resistance to developing brain pathology due to vascular risk factors: the role of educational attainment",

abstract = "Brain pathology develops at different rates between individuals with similar burden of risk factors, possibly explained by brain resistance. We examined if education contributes to brain resistance by studying its influence on the association between vascular risk factors and brain pathology. In 4111 stroke-free and dementia-free community-dwelling participants (62.9 ± 10.7 years), we explored the association between vascular risk factors (hypertension and the Framingham Stroke Risk Profile [FRSP]) and imaging markers of brain pathology (markers of cerebral small vessel disease and brain volumetry), stratified by educational attainment level. Associations of hypertension and FSRP with markers of brain pathology were not significantly different between levels of educational attainment. Certain associations appeared weaker in those with higher compared to lower educational attainment, particularly for white matter hyperintensities (WMH). Supplementary residual analyses showed significant associations between higher educational attainment and stronger resistance to WMH among others. Our results suggest a role for educational attainment in resistance to vascular brain pathology. Yet, further research is needed to better characterize determinants of brain resistance.",

author = "{van Arendonk}, Joyce and Pinar Yilmaz and Rebecca Steketee and Zijlmans, {Jend{\'e} L.} and Sander Lamballais and Niessen, {Wiro J.} and Julia Neitzel and Ikram, {M. Arfan} and Vernooij, {Meike W.}",

note = "Funding Information: The Rotterdam Study is funded by Erasmus Medical Center and Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands Organization for the Health Research and Development (ZonMw), the Research Institute for Diseases in the Elderly (RIDE), the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Sports, the European Commission (DG XII), and the Municipality of Rotterdam. This project was supported by a ZonMw Memorabel grant [project no 733050817]. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Author(s)",

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AU - van Arendonk, Joyce

AU - Yilmaz, Pinar

AU - Steketee, Rebecca

AU - Zijlmans, Jendé L.

AU - Lamballais, Sander

AU - Niessen, Wiro J.

AU - Neitzel, Julia

AU - Ikram, M. Arfan

AU - Vernooij, Meike W.

N1 - Funding Information: The Rotterdam Study is funded by Erasmus Medical Center and Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands Organization for the Health Research and Development (ZonMw), the Research Institute for Diseases in the Elderly (RIDE), the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Sports, the European Commission (DG XII), and the Municipality of Rotterdam. This project was supported by a ZonMw Memorabel grant [project no 733050817]. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)

PY - 2021/10/1

Y1 - 2021/10/1

N2 - Brain pathology develops at different rates between individuals with similar burden of risk factors, possibly explained by brain resistance. We examined if education contributes to brain resistance by studying its influence on the association between vascular risk factors and brain pathology. In 4111 stroke-free and dementia-free community-dwelling participants (62.9 ± 10.7 years), we explored the association between vascular risk factors (hypertension and the Framingham Stroke Risk Profile [FRSP]) and imaging markers of brain pathology (markers of cerebral small vessel disease and brain volumetry), stratified by educational attainment level. Associations of hypertension and FSRP with markers of brain pathology were not significantly different between levels of educational attainment. Certain associations appeared weaker in those with higher compared to lower educational attainment, particularly for white matter hyperintensities (WMH). Supplementary residual analyses showed significant associations between higher educational attainment and stronger resistance to WMH among others. Our results suggest a role for educational attainment in resistance to vascular brain pathology. Yet, further research is needed to better characterize determinants of brain resistance.

AB - Brain pathology develops at different rates between individuals with similar burden of risk factors, possibly explained by brain resistance. We examined if education contributes to brain resistance by studying its influence on the association between vascular risk factors and brain pathology. In 4111 stroke-free and dementia-free community-dwelling participants (62.9 ± 10.7 years), we explored the association between vascular risk factors (hypertension and the Framingham Stroke Risk Profile [FRSP]) and imaging markers of brain pathology (markers of cerebral small vessel disease and brain volumetry), stratified by educational attainment level. Associations of hypertension and FSRP with markers of brain pathology were not significantly different between levels of educational attainment. Certain associations appeared weaker in those with higher compared to lower educational attainment, particularly for white matter hyperintensities (WMH). Supplementary residual analyses showed significant associations between higher educational attainment and stronger resistance to WMH among others. Our results suggest a role for educational attainment in resistance to vascular brain pathology. Yet, further research is needed to better characterize determinants of brain resistance.

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Resistance to developing brain pathology due to vascular risk factors: the role of educational attainment

Abstract

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