Sex-driven modifiers of Alzheimer risk: A multimodality brain imaging study.

TitleSex-driven modifiers of Alzheimer risk: A multimodality brain imaging study.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsRahman A, Schelbaum E, Hoffman K, Díaz I, Hristov H, Andrews R, Jett S, Jackson H, Lee A, Sarva H, Pahlajani S, Matthews D, Dyke J, de Leon MJ, Isaacson RS, Brinton RD, Mosconi L
JournalNeurology
Volume95
Issue2
Paginatione166-e178
Date Published2020 Jul 14
ISSN1526-632X
Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate sex differences in late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD) risks by means of multimodality brain biomarkers (β-amyloid load via C-Pittsburgh compound B [PiB] PET, neurodegeneration via F-fluorodeoxyglucose [FDG] PET and structural MRI).

METHODS: We examined 121 cognitively normal participants (85 women and 36 men) 40 to 65 years of age with clinical, laboratory, neuropsychological, lifestyle, MRI, FDG- and PiB-PET examinations. Several clinical (e.g., age, education, status, family history), medical (e.g., depression, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia), hormonal (e.g., thyroid disease, menopause), and lifestyle AD risk factors (e.g., smoking, diet, exercise, intellectual activity) were assessed. Statistical parametric mapping and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regressions were used to compare AD biomarkers between men and women and to identify the risk factors associated with sex-related differences.

RESULTS: Groups were comparable on clinical and cognitive measures. After adjustment for each modality-specific confounders, the female group showed higher PiB β-amyloid deposition, lower FDG glucose metabolism, and lower MRI gray and white matter volumes compared to the male group ( < 0.05, family-wise error corrected for multiple comparisons). The male group did not show biomarker abnormalities compared to the female group. Results were independent of age and remained significant with the use of age-matched groups. Second to female sex, menopausal status was the predictor most consistently and strongly associated with the observed brain biomarker differences, followed by hormone therapy, hysterectomy status, and thyroid disease.

CONCLUSION: Hormonal risk factors, in particular menopause, predict AD endophenotype in middle-aged women. These findings suggest that the window of opportunity for AD preventive interventions in women is early in the endocrine aging process.

DOI10.1212/WNL.0000000000009781
Alternate JournalNeurology
PubMed ID32580974
Division: 
Biostatistics
Category: 
Faculty Publication