title: Brain morphology in older African Americans, Caribbean Hispanics, and whites from northern Manhattan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aging is accompanied by a decrease in brain volume and by an increase in cerebrovascular disease.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the effects of age, sex, race/ethnicity, and vascular disease history on measures of brain morphology, including relative brain volume, ventricular volume, hippocampus and entorhinal cortex volumes, and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) burden, in a large community-based cohort of racially/ethnically diverse older adults without dementia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The associations of age, sex, race/ethnicity, and self-reported vascular disease history with brain morphology were examined in a cross-sectional study using multiple linear regression analyses. Sex x race/ethnicity interactions were also considered.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project, a community-based epidemiological study of older adults from 3 racial/ethnic groups (white, Hispanic, and African American) from northern Manhattan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Beginning in 2003, high-resolution quantitative magnetic resonance (MR) images were acquired in 769 participants without dementia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Relative brain volume (total brain volume/intracranial volume), ventricular volume, and hippocampus and entorhinal cortex volumes were derived manually on high-resolution MR images. White matter hyperintensities were quantified semiautomatically on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery-T2-weighted MR images.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Older age was associated with decreased relative brain volume and with increased ventricular and WMH volumes. Hispanic and African American participants had larger relative brain volumes and more severe WMH burden than white participants, but the associations of these variables with age were similar across racial/ethnic groups. Compared with men, women had larger relative brain volumes. Vascular disease was associated with smaller relative brain volume and with higher WMH burden, particularly among African Americans.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Older age and vascular disease, particularly among African Americans, are associated with increased brain atrophy and WMH burden. African American and Hispanic subjects have larger relative brain volumes and more WMH than white subjects. Racial/ethnic group differences in WMH severity seem to be partially attributable to differences in vascular disease. Future work will focus on the determinants and cognitive correlates of these differences.
authors.affiliation: Departmentof Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Gertrude H Sergievsky Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032. amb2139@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Adam M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Brickman
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schupf
authors.forename: Jennifer J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Manly
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Luchsinger
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.forename: Ming X
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reitz
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Small
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mayeux
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: DeCarli
authors.forename: Truman R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D019412:Anatomy, Cross-Sectional; D001284:Atrophy; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D017691:Caribbean Region / Q000208:ethnology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D044465:White People / Q000208:ethnology*