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
. 2024 Dec;30(10):935-943.
doi: 10.1017/S1355617724000316. Epub 2024 Nov 26.

Impact of white matter hyperintensity volume on cognition among US Mexican American adults

Lisa V Graves  1 , Monica M Diaz  2 , Eran Dayan  3 ; Health and Aging Brain Study: Health Disparities (HABS-HD) Team
Affiliations

Impact of white matter hyperintensity volume on cognition among US Mexican American adults

Lisa V Graves et al. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: Higher white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume is a marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. CVD risk factors increase risk for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Mexican Americans (MA) and individuals of other Hispanic/Latino heritages have higher risk for CVD and ADRD. However, knowledge of associations between WMH volume and cognition in these groups remains limited.

Method: We conducted a cross-sectional study of associations between WMH volume and neuropsychological performance (attention/executive functioning, memory) in MA (n = 851) and non-Hispanic White (NHW; n = 747) adults in the Health and Aging Brain Study: Health Disparities.

Results: The MA group (mean age = 63.72 ± 7.90 years; 66.3% female) had higher rates of consensus diagnoses of hypertension and diabetes, whereas the NHW group (mean age = 69.18 ± 8.65 years; 55.2% female) had higher rates of diagnosed CVD (ps < .01). WMH volumes were higher among individuals with CVD risk factors/conditions (ps < .01). There were differential associations between WMH and neuropsychological performance across ethnoracial groups (ps < .001), wherein associations were steeper in the NHW group than in the MA group. Lower educational level was associated with higher WMH volume in the NHW group (p < .001), but no association was seen in the MA group (p > .05).

Conclusions: Negative effects of pathological changes in the form of WMH on cognition may be less robust or consistent for MA adults than NHW adults. Furthermore, the impact of WMH on cognition in NHW adults may be mitigated by cognitive reserve related to educational attainment.

Keywords: Aging; Alzheimer’s disease; Hispanic or Latino; cardiovascular diseases; cognition; cognitive reserve.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests and Sources of Financial Support (Including Grant Numbers)

The authors have no conflicts to report. MMD is supported by the NIH NIMH (K23MH131466), Alzheimer’s Association (AARGD-22-924896) and the American Academy of Neurology.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Ethnoracial group differences on composite z-scores for attention/EF (A) and memory (B), in addition to overall correlations of composite neuropsychological z-scores with age, ICV, and WMH volume (C). Abbreviations: EF = attention/EF; Mem = memory; ICV = intracranial volume; WMH = white matter hyperintensity.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Differential associations between white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume and neuropsychological performance in the MA and NHW groups for attention/EF (A) and memory (B). Interactions were assessed while accounting for age, sex, education, and intracranial volume (ICV).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Alzheimer’s Association. (2020). Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 16(3), 391+.
    1. Amaefule CO, Dyrba M, Wolfsgruber S, Polcher A, Schneider A, Fliessbach K, Spottke A, Meiberth D, Preis L, Peters O, Incesoy EI, Spruth EJ, Priller J, Altenstein S, Bartels C, Wiltfang J, Janowitz D, Burger K, Laske C, Munk M, … Teipel SJ (2021). Association between composite scores of domain-specific cognitive functions and regional patterns of atrophy and functional connectivity in the Alzheimer’s disease spectrum. NeuroImage: Clinical, 29, 102533. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arevalo M, Heredia NI, Krasny S, Rangel ML, Gatus LA, McNeill LH, & Fernandez ME (2016). Mexican-American perspectives on participation in clinical trials: A qualitative study. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 4, 52–57. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Babulal GM, Quiroz YT, Albensi BC, Arenaza-Urquijo E, Astell AJ, Babiloni C, Bahar-Fuchs A, Bell J, Bowman GL, Brickman AM, Chételat G, Ciro C, Cohen AD, Dilworth-Anderson P, Dodge HH, Dreux S, Edland S, Esbensen A, Evered L, Ewers M, … International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment, Alzheimer’s Association (2019). Perspectives on ethnic and racial disparities in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias: Update and areas of immediate need. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 15(2), 292–312. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Benjamin P, Zeestraten E, Lambert C, Chis Ster I, Williams OA, Lawrence AJ, Patel B, MacKinnon AD, Barrick TR, & Markus HS (2016). Progression of MRI markers in cerebral small vessel disease: Sample size considerations for clinical trials. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 36(1), 228–240. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms