title: Brain cortical thickness in the general elderly population: the Rotterdam Scan Study.
abstract: Cortical thickness is considered a potentially relevant marker for neurodegenerative diseases. However, the relationship of demographic and vascular risk factors with cortical thickness remains unclear. In a population-based sample of 1022 non-demented elderly persons (mean age 68.4±7.3 years), we examined aging effects on global and lobar cortical thickness and the relationship with demographic variables and cardiovascular risk factors. We used a validated model-based approach to calculate mean cortical thickness (μm) in brain MR-images. We found that women had a significant thicker cortex than men (p<0.01). Further, with increasing age, cortical thickness decreased (approximately 0.2% per year), with the largest age effects for the occipital and temporal lobes, and the decrease in the frontal lobe being more apparent in men than in women (p-interaction<0.001). Additionally, higher education, higher diastolic blood pressure and larger intra-cranial volume were related to a larger cortical thickness, whilst diabetes mellitus and higher HDL cholesterol levels were related to a thinner cortex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, P.O. Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Evert F S
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: van Velsen
authors.forename: Meike W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Vernooij
authors.forename: Henri A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Vrooman
authors.forename: Aad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van der Lugt
authors.forename: Monique M B
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Breteler
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofman
authors.forename: Wiro J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Niessen
authors.forename: M Arfan
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ikram
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D012016:Reference Values; D012307:Risk Factors; D012727:Sex Characteristics
keywords: Cardiovascular risk factors; Cerebral cortex; Cortical thickness; Magnetic resonance imaging; Normal aging; Population-based