Cognitive deficits are associated with frontal and temporal lobe white matter lesions in middle-aged adults living in the community.
BACKGROUND
The association between brain white matter lesions and cognitive impairment in old age is well established. However, little is known about this association in midlife. As this information will inform policy for early preventative healthcare initiatives, we investigated non-periventricular frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobe white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in relation to cognitive function in 428 (232 women) community-dwelling adults aged 44 to 48 years.


RESULTS
Frontal white matter lesions were significantly associated with greater intraindividual RT variability in women, while temporal WMH were associated with face recognition deficits in men. Parietal and occipital lobe lesions were unrelated to cognitive performance. These findings did not differ when education and a range of health variables, including vascular risk factors, were taken into account.


CONCLUSIONS
Gender differences in WMH-cognition associations are discussed, and we conclude that small vessel disease is present in midlife and has functional consequences which are generally not recognized. Preventative strategies should, therefore, begin early in life.
Centre for Mental Health Research, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. david.bunce@brunel.ac.uk
David
D
Bunce
Kaarin J
KJ
Anstey
Nicolas
N
Cherbuin
Richard
R
Burns
Helen
H
Christensen
Wei
W
Wen
Perminder S
PS
Sachdev
D000328:Adult; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*