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Sex-specific relationships between obesity, physical activity, and gray and white matter volume in cognitively unimpaired older adults

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Abstract   

Independently, obesity and physical activity (PA) influence cerebral structure in aging, yet their interaction has not been investigated. We examined sex differences in the relationships among PA, obesity, and cerebral structure in aging with 340 participants who completed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquisition to quantify grey matter volume (GMV) and white matter volume (WMV). Height and weight were measured to calculate body mass index (BMI). A PA questionnaire was used to estimate weekly Metabolic Equivalents. The relationships between BMI, PA, and their interaction on GMV Regions of Interest (ROIs) and WMV ROIs were examined. Increased BMI was associated with higher GMV in females, an inverse U relationship was found between PA and GMV in females, and the interaction indicated that regardless of BMI greater PA was associated with enhanced GMV. Males demonstrated an inverse U shape between BMI and GMV, and in males with high PA and had normal weight demonstrated greater GMV than normal weight low PA revealed by the interaction. WMV ROIs had a linear relationship with moderate PA in females, whereas in males, increased BMI was associated with lower WMV as well as a positive relationship with moderate PA and WMV. Males and females have unique relationships among GMV, PA and BMI, suggesting sex-aggregated analyses may lead to biased or non-significant results. These results suggest higher BMI, and PA are associated with increased GMV in females, uniquely different from males, highlighting the importance of sex-disaggregated models. Future work should include other imaging parameters, such as perfusion, to identify if these differences co-occur in the same regions as GMV.

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Data availability

All data used in the present study are either publicly available (PREVENT-AD MRIs and demographics: https://openpreventad.loris.ca) or can be shared upon reasonable request and approval by the study scientific committees and/or institutional review boards. Data used in preparation of this article were obtained from the Pre-symptomatic Evaluation of Novel or Experimental Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease (PREVENT-AD) program (https://douglas.research.mcgill.ca/stop-ad-centre), data release 6.0. A complete listing of PREVENT-AD Research Group can be found in the PREVENT-AD database: https://preventad.loris.ca/acknowledgements/acknowledgements.php?date=%5B2022-08-02%5D.

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Acknowledgements

CONSORTIUM – PREVENT-AD Research Group

Anne Labontéf,g, Alexa Pichet Binettef−h, Axel Mathieug, Cynthia Picardf−h, Doris Deaf,g, Claudio Cuelloh, Alan Evansg,h,i, Christine Tardiff,g, Gerhard Mulhauph, Jamie Nearf,h, Jeannie-Marie Leoutsakosk, John CS Bretinerf−h, Judes Poirierf−h, Lisa-Marie Müntermh, Louis Collinsg−i, Mallar Chakravartyf−h, Natasha Rajahf−h, Pedro Rosa-Netof−h, Pierre Bellecc,g,m, Pierre Etiennef−h, Pierre Orbanc,f,g,m, Rick Hogeg−i, Serge Gauthierf−h, Sylvia Villeneuevef−h, Véronique Bohbotf−h, Vladimir Fonovh,i, Yasser Ituria-Medinag−i, Holly Newbold-Foxf, Jacob Vogelf,g, Jennifer Tremblay-Mercierf,g, Justin Katf,g,i, Justin Mirong−i, Masha Dadarh,i, Marie-Elyse Lafaille-Magnanf−h, Pierre-François Meyerf−h, Samir Dash−i, Julie Gonneaudf−h, Gülebru Ayrancif−h, Tharick A Pascoalf−h, Sander CJ Verfaillief,g,n, Sarah Farzinf, Alyssa Salaciakf, Stephanie Tullof,h, Etienne Vachon-Presseauf,o, Leslie-Ann Daousg, Theresa Köbeg,h, Melissa McSweeneyh, Nathalie Nilssonf−h, Morteza Pishnamazif−h, Chirstophe Bedettif, Louise Hudong, Claudia Grecof,g, Frederic St-Ongef−h, Sophie Boutinf,g, Maiya R Geddesf−i, Simon Ducharmef−h, Gabriel Jeanf,g, Elisabeth Sylvainf,g, Marie-Josée Éliseg,h, Gloria Leblond-Baccichetf,g, Julie Baillyf, Bery Mohammediyanf,g, Jordana Remzf, Jean-Paul Soucyh,i

fDouglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal Canada H4H 1R3.

gSTOP-AD Centre, Montreal Canada, Montreal Canada H4H 1R3.

hMcGill University, Montreal Canada H3A 0G4.

iMcConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal Canada H3A 2B4.

kJohn Hopkins University, Baltimore USA MD 21,218.

c Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, 4545 Queen Mary Rd, Montréal Canada H3W 1W6.

mUniversity of Montreal, Montreal Canada H3T 1J4.

oNorthwestern Univeristy, Evanston, USA, IL 60,208.

nAlzheimer’s Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Netherlands 1081.

Funding

This work was supported by: Data used in the preparation of this article were obtained from the Pre-symptomatic Evaluation of Novel or Experimental Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease (PREVENT-AD) program data release 6.0. PREVENT-AD was launched in 2011 as a $13.5 million, 7-year public–private partnership using funds provided by McGill University, the Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQ-S), an unrestricted research grant from Pfizer Canada, the Levesque Foundation, the Douglas Hospital Research Centre and Foundation, the Government of Canada, and the Canada Fund for Innovation. Private sector contributions are facilitated by the Development Office of the McGill University Faculty of Medicine and by the Douglas Hospital Research Centre Foundation (http://www.douglas.qc.ca/). Alzheimer’s Association Research grant (SV), project grant through Canadian Institutes of Health Research (SV); Henry J.M. Barnett Heart and Stroke Foundation New Investigator Award (CJG), Michal and Renata Hornstein Chair in Cardiovascular Imaging (CJG); Mirella and Lino Saputo Research Chair in Cardiovascular Health and the Prevention of Cognitive Decline from the Universite de Montreal at the Montreal Heart Institute (LB).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Graduate Studies, Concordia University, Montreal, H3G 1N1, Canada

    Brittany Intzandt

  2. PERFORM Centre, Concordia University, Montreal, H4B 1R6, Canada

    Brittany Intzandt, Safa Sanami, Julia Huck & Claudine J. Gauthier

  3. Centre de Recherche de L’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Montréal, H3W 1W6, Canada

    Brittany Intzandt, Pierre Bellec, Pierre Orban & Louis Bherer

  4. Centre de Recherche de L’Institut de Cardiologie de Montréal, Montréal, H1T 1N6, Canada

    Brittany Intzandt, Safa Sanami, Louis Bherer & Claudine J. Gauthier

  5. Department of Physics, Concordia University, Montreal, H4B 1R6, Canada

    Safa Sanami, Julia Huck & Claudine J. Gauthier

  6. Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, H4H 1R3, Canada

    Anne Labonté, Alexa Pichet Binette, Cynthia Picard, Doris Dea, Christine Tardif, Jamie Near, John C. S. Bretiner, Judes Poirier, Mallar Chakravarty, Natasha Rajah, Pedro Rosa-Neto, Pierre Etienne, Pierre Orban, Serge Gauthier, Sylvia Villeneueve, Véronique Bohbot, Holly Newbold-Fox, Jacob Vogel, Jennifer Tremblay-Mercier, Justin Kat, Marie-Elyse Lafaille-Magnan, Pierre-François Meyer, Julie Gonneaud, Gülebru Ayranci, Tharick A. Pascoal, Sander C. J. Verfaillie, Sarah Farzin, Alyssa Salaciak, Stephanie Tullo, Etienne Vachon-Presseau, Nathalie Nilsson, Morteza Pishnamazi, Chirstophe Bedetti, Claudia Greco, Frederic St-Onge, Sophie Boutin, Maiya R. Geddes, Simon Ducharme, Gabriel Jean, Elisabeth Sylvain, Gloria Leblond-Baccichet, Julie Bailly, Bery Mohammediyan, Jordana Remz & Sylvia Villeneuve

  7. STOP-AD Centre, Montreal Canada, Montreal, H4H 1R3, Canada

    Anne Labonté, Alexa Pichet Binette, Axel Mathieu, Cynthia Picard, Doris Dea, Alan Evans, Christine Tardif, John C. S. Bretiner, Judes Poirier, Louis Collins, Mallar Chakravarty, Natasha Rajah, Pedro Rosa-Neto, Pierre Bellec, Pierre Etienne, Pierre Orban, Rick Hoge, Serge Gauthier, Sylvia Villeneueve, Véronique Bohbot, Yasser Ituria-Medina, Jacob Vogel, Jennifer Tremblay-Mercier, Justin Kat, Justin Miron, Marie-Elyse Lafaille-Magnan, Pierre-François Meyer, Julie Gonneaud, Gülebru Ayranci, Tharick A. Pascoal, Sander C. J. Verfaillie, Leslie-Ann Daous, Theresa Köbe, Nathalie Nilsson, Morteza Pishnamazi, Louise Hudon, Claudia Greco, Frederic St-Onge, Sophie Boutin, Maiya R. Geddes, Simon Ducharme, Gabriel Jean, Elisabeth Sylvain, Marie-Josée Élise, Gloria Leblond-Baccichet, Bery Mohammediyan & Sylvia Villeneuve

  8. McGill University, Montreal, H3A 0G4, Canada

    Alexa Pichet Binette, Cynthia Picard, Claudio Cuello, Alan Evans, Christine Tardif, Gerhard Mulhaup, Jamie Near, John C. S. Bretiner, Judes Poirier, Lisa-Marie Münterm, Louis Collins, Mallar Chakravarty, Natasha Rajah, Pedro Rosa-Neto, Pierre Etienne, Rick Hoge, Serge Gauthier, Sylvia Villeneueve, Véronique Bohbot, Vladimir Fonov, Yasser Ituria-Medina, Justin Miron, Masha Dadar, Marie-Elyse Lafaille-Magnan, Pierre-François Meyer, Samir Das, Julie Gonneaud, Gülebru Ayranci, Tharick A. Pascoal, Stephanie Tullo, Theresa Köbe, Melissa McSweeney, Nathalie Nilsson, Morteza Pishnamazi, Frederic St-Onge, Maiya R. Geddes, Simon Ducharme, Marie-Josée Élise & Jean-Paul Soucy

  9. McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal, H3A 2B4, Canada

    Alan Evans, Louis Collins, Rick Hoge, Vladimir Fonov, Yasser Ituria-Medina, Justin Kat, Justin Miron, Masha Dadar, Samir Das, Maiya R. Geddes & Jean-Paul Soucy

  10. John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA

    Jeannie-Marie Leoutsakos

  11. University of Montreal, Montreal, H3T 1J4, Canada

    Pierre Bellec & Pierre Orban

  12. Alzheimer’s Center, University of Amsterdam, 1081, Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Sander C. J. Verfaillie

  13. Northwestern Univeristy, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

    Etienne Vachon-Presseau

  14. Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, H3A 1Y2, Montreal Canada, Montreal, Canada

    Sylvia Villeneuve

  15. Département de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, H3T 1J4, Canada

    Louis Bherer & Claudine J. Gauthier

  16. Department of Physics, Concordia University, Montreal, H3G 1M8, Canada

    Claudine J. Gauthier

Authors
  1. Brittany Intzandt
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  2. Safa Sanami
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  3. Julia Huck
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  4. Sylvia Villeneuve
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  5. Louis Bherer
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  6. Claudine J. Gauthier
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Consortia

PREVENT-AD Research group

  • Anne Labonté
  • , Alexa Pichet Binette
  • , Axel Mathieu
  • , Cynthia Picard
  • , Doris Dea
  • , Claudio Cuello
  • , Alan Evans
  • , Christine Tardif
  • , Gerhard Mulhaup
  • , Jamie Near
  • , Jeannie-Marie Leoutsakos
  • , John C. S. Bretiner
  • , Judes Poirier
  • , Lisa-Marie Münterm
  • , Louis Collins
  • , Mallar Chakravarty
  • , Natasha Rajah
  • , Pedro Rosa-Neto
  • , Pierre Bellec
  • , Pierre Etienne
  • , Pierre Orban
  • , Rick Hoge
  • , Serge Gauthier
  • , Sylvia Villeneueve
  • , Véronique Bohbot
  • , Vladimir Fonov
  • , Yasser Ituria-Medina
  • , Holly Newbold-Fox
  • , Jacob Vogel
  • , Jennifer Tremblay-Mercier
  • , Justin Kat
  • , Justin Miron
  • , Masha Dadar
  • , Marie-Elyse Lafaille-Magnan
  • , Pierre-François Meyer
  • , Samir Das
  • , Julie Gonneaud
  • , Gülebru Ayranci
  • , Tharick A. Pascoal
  • , Sander C. J. Verfaillie
  • , Sarah Farzin
  • , Alyssa Salaciak
  • , Stephanie Tullo
  • , Etienne Vachon-Presseau
  • , Leslie-Ann Daous
  • , Theresa Köbe
  • , Melissa McSweeney
  • , Nathalie Nilsson
  • , Morteza Pishnamazi
  • , Chirstophe Bedetti
  • , Louise Hudon
  • , Claudia Greco
  • , Frederic St-Onge
  • , Sophie Boutin
  • , Maiya R. Geddes
  • , Simon Ducharme
  • , Gabriel Jean
  • , Elisabeth Sylvain
  • , Marie-Josée Élise
  • , Gloria Leblond-Baccichet
  • , Julie Bailly
  • , Bery Mohammediyan
  • , Jordana Remz
  •  & Jean-Paul Soucy

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Claudine J. Gauthier.

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Intzandt, B., Sanami, S., Huck, J. et al. Sex-specific relationships between obesity, physical activity, and gray and white matter volume in cognitively unimpaired older adults. GeroScience 45, 1869–1888 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-023-00734-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-023-00734-4

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