Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct-Dec;35(4):291-297.
doi: 10.1097/WAD.0000000000000453.

Bone Mineral Density Measurements and Association With Brain Structure and Cognitive Function: The Framingham Offspring Cohort

Maria Stefanidou  1   2 , Adrienne O'Donnell  1   3 , Jayandra J Himali  1   2   3   4   5 , Charles DeCarli  6 , Claudia Satizabal  1   4 , Alexa S Beiser  1   2   3 , Sudha Seshadri  1   2   4 , Tan Zaldy  7
Affiliations

Bone Mineral Density Measurements and Association With Brain Structure and Cognitive Function: The Framingham Offspring Cohort

Maria Stefanidou et al. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2021 Oct-Dec.

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: Bone mineral density (BMD) is a potential surrogate marker of lifetime estrogen exposure previously linked to increased risk of Alzheimer dementia among elderly women. We examine the association between BMD in the "young old" with imaging biomarkers of brain aging and cognitive performance.

Methods: Offspring participants (N=1905, mean age 66) of a population-based cohort who had BMD, brain imaging and detailed cognitive assessment were included in the study. Sex-stratified, linear, and logistic regression models were used for analysis.

Results: Higher femoral neck BMD was associated with lower white matter hyperintensity burden and better performance on Trails B-A in both sexes, even after adjustment for cerebrovascular risk factors. Among women, the positive association with Trails B-A performance was seen only in APOE4 allele carriers. Higher BMD measurements were linked to better visual reproductions test performance in men. Finally, among women, higher femoral trochanter BMD was associated with better logical memory and Hooper visual organization test performance.

Conclusion: Among the "young old," higher BMD is associated with less white matter hyperintensity burden and better, domain-specific, cognitive performance. This suggests that lifetime estrogen exposure may modulate the degree of cumulative vascular brain injury independent of cerebrovascular risk factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Gen 2 study participants. BMD indicates bone mineral density; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; NP, neuropsychological.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Sato Y. Dementia and fracture. Clin Calcium. 2010;20:1379–1384. - PubMed
    1. Liu D, Zhou H, Tao Y, et al. Alzheimer’s disease is associated with increased risk of osteoporosis: the Chongqing Aging Study. Curr Alzheimer Res. 2016;13:1165–1172. - PubMed
    1. Lee DY, Na DL, Seo SW, et al. Association between cognitive impairment and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women. Menopause. 2012;19:636–641. - PubMed
    1. Bae IS, Kim JM, Cheong JH, et al. Association between bone mineral density and brain parenchymal atrophy and ventricular enlargement in healthy individuals. Aging (Albany NY). 2019;11:8217–8238. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Basgoz B, Ince S, Safer U, et al. Low bone density and osteoporosis among older adults with Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and mixed dementia: a cross-sectional study with prospective enrollment. Turk J Phys Med Rehabil. 2020;66:193–200. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types