Reduced neurovascular coupling is associated with increased cardiovascular risk without established cerebrovascular disease: a cross-sectional analysis in UK biobank
Author(s)
Yang, Sheng
Webb, Alastair John Stewart
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Mid-life vascular risk factors predict late-life cerebrovascular diseases and poor global brain health. Although endothelial dysfunction is hypothesized to contribute to this process, evidence of impaired neurovascular function in early stages remains limited. In this cross-sectional study of 31,934 middle-aged individuals from UK Biobank without established cerebrovascular disease, the overall 10-year risk of cardiovascular events was associated with reduced neurovascular coupling (p < 2 × 10−16) during a visual task with functional MRI, including in participants with no clinically apparent brain injury on MRI. Diabetes, smoking, waist-hip ratio, and hypertension were each strongly associated with decreased neurovascular coupling with the strongest relationships for diabetes and smoking, whilst in older adults there was an inverted U-shaped relationship with DBP, peaking at 70–80 mmHg DBP. These findings indicate that mid-life vascular risk factors are associated with impaired cerebral endothelial-dependent neurovascular function in the absence of overt brain injury. Neurovascular dysfunction, measured by neurovascular coupling, may play a role in the development of late-life cerebrovascular disease, underscoring the need for further longitudinal studies to explore its potential as a mediator of long-term cerebrovascular risk.
Date Issued
2025-05-01
Date Acceptance
2024-11-02
Citation
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 2025, 45 (5), pp.897-907
ISSN
0271-678X
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Start Page
897
End Page
907
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism
Volume
45
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2024. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39576882
Subjects
AGE
BRAIN
Cerebral small vessel disease
Endocrinology & Metabolism
endothelial function
FLOW RESPONSE
Hematology
hypertension
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
MIDLIFE BLOOD-PRESSURE
Neurosciences
Neurosciences & Neurology
neurovascular coupling
REACTIVITY
Science & Technology
SEGMENTATION
SMALL-VESSEL DISEASE
SMOKING
STROKE
vascular risk factors
WHITE-MATTER HYPERINTENSITIES
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Date Publish Online
2024-11-22