Radiomic and proteomic signatures of body mass index on brain ageing and Alzheimer's-like patterns of brain atrophy

Abstract

Background: The impact of high body mass index (BMI) states and associated proteomic factors on brain ageing and Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains unclear.

Methods: We sought to evaluate machine learning (ML)-based neuroimaging markers of brain age and AD-like brain atrophy in participants with obesity or overweight without diagnosed cognitive impairment (WODCI), in a harmonised study of 46,288 participants in 15 studies (the Imaging-Based Coordinate System for Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases (iSTAGING) consortium). We also assessed the association between cognition, serum proteins, and brain ageing indices. Data were acquired between 1999 and 2020 and analysed from November 2024 onwards.

Findings: The study comprised 46,288 participants, including 24,897 females and 21,391 males, with a mean age of 64.33 years (SD = 8.13) and a mean BMI of 26.81 kg/m² (SD = 4.49). The results demonstrate that the impact of obesity on brain ageing, and AD-like brain atrophy is weaker with increasing age and is significantly pronounced in males compared to females. Additionally, in males, obesity was significantly associated with approximately 2 additional years of brain ageing compared to normal weight and 1 additional year compared to the overweight group. Males with overweight also showed higher brain ageing values (8 additional months) than males with normal weight. Regarding AD-like brain atrophy, males with obesity displayed higher AD-like brain atrophy than males with normal weight, but females with normal weight showed higher AD-like brain atrophy than females with overweight. Sex differences within the same BMI categories were observed, with males exhibiting increased brain ageing compared to females, in obesity (1 additional year) and overweight groups (3 additional months). Higher AD-like brain atrophy was observed in males with overweight than in females with overweight. Females with normal weight displayed increased brain ageing (8 additional months) and AD-like brain atrophy relative to males with normal weight. In both retrospective and cross-sectional proteomics studies, five and eight proteins out of 1463 proteins were significantly (positively or negatively) associated with brain ageing and 1-SD BMI change (SD = 4.2 kg/m²), respectively.

Interpretation: The findings demonstrate that higher BMI states are associated with accelerated brain ageing and AD-like atrophy, particularly in males, while females with normal weight demonstrated higher brain ageing and AD-like atrophy than males with normal weight. Moreover, the impact of obesity on brain ageing and AD-like brain atrophy becomes weaker with increasing age. Further research is needed to investigate sex-specific mechanisms by which weight gain influences brain ageing.

Funding: National Institute on Aging's Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, Intramural Research Program.

Keywords: Ageing; Alzheimer's; Brain age gap; Proteomics.

Fig. 1

Pipeline. Abbreviations: WODCI, Without Diagnosed Cognitive Impairment; BMI, Body Mass Index. Created with BioRender.com.

Fig. 2

a) Scatter plot of p-Tau concentration (log2) and chronological age. b) Scatter plot of Αβ concentration (log2) and chronological age. c) Scatter plot of total Tau concentration (log2) and chronological age. The r corresponds to Pearson's r coefficient.

Fig. 3

a) Scatter plot of chronological age and predicted age for each BMI category (normal weight, overweight, obesity). b) Scatter plot of chronological age and SPARE-AD for each BMI category (normal weight, overweight, obesity). c) Bar plot of SPARE-BA between BMI categories in males and in females. d) Bar plot of SPARE-BA of males versus females in each BMI category. e) Bar plot of SPARE-AD between BMI categories in males and in females. f) Bar plot of SPARE-AD of males versus females in each BMI category. Asterisk (∗) is put above the bar plot where FDR-adjusted p-value is <0.05.

Fig. 4

a) Volcano plot showing the proteins associated with brain ageing (expressed in months) at the baseline visit; the top 25 proteins are labelled. b) Scatter plot of the FDR < 0.05 adjusted proteins associated with both brain ageing and BMI change per 1-SD at the baseline visit. c) Volcano plot showing the proteins associated with brain atrophy at the baseline visit. d) Volcano plot showing the proteins associated with brain ageing (expressed in months) at the imaging visit; the top 25 proteins are labelled. e) Scatter plot of the FDR < 0.05 adjusted proteins associated with both brain ageing and BMI change per 1-SD at the imaging visit. f) Volcano plot showing the proteins associated with brain atrophy at the imaging visit.

Fig. 5

a) Volcano plot of the proteins associated with brain ageing and BMI change per 1-SD at both baseline and imaging visit. b) Heatmap of the FDR < 0.05 adjusted proteins associated with brain ageing, showing if they are expressed in obesity or in overweight in comparison with controls with normal weight.