Vascular health is a predictor of cognitive outcomes, but the relationship between the two remains incompletely understood. Here we tested the hypothesis that brain stiffness is significantly associated with vascular health as assessed by white matter hyperintensity (WMH) load and the presence of systemic risk factors. Through voxel-wise mapping, WMH was associated with decreased stiffness in periventricular regions, while systemic risk factors were associated with widespread, lower-amplitude stiffness decreases. Examining the partial correlations between stiffness, WMH and vascular risk factors, stiffness was significantly associated with both measures, while WMH and vascular risk were not significantly correlated after controlling for stiffness.
This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only; a login is required.