title: Association of allostatic load with brain structure and cognitive ability in later life.
abstract: Allostatic load (AL) has been proposed as a general framework for understanding the cumulative effects of life stress on individuals. Despite growing interest in AL, limited research has been conducted on aging samples. We consider the association of AL (operationalized by a range of inflammatory, cardiovascular, and metabolic measures) with a range of brain volume measurements and cognitive ability in a large cohort sample of older adults (n = 658, mean age = 72.5 years, standard deviation = 0.7) using structural equation modeling. AL was significantly inversely associated with total brain volume (range of standardized β = -0.16 to -0.20) and white-matter volume (-0.35 to -0.36) and positively with hippocampal volume (0.10-0.15) but not gray-matter volume (0.04). AL was also significantly inversely associated with general cognitive ability (range β = -0.13 to -0.20), processing speed (-0.20 to -0.22), and knowledge (-0.18 to -0.20) but not memory or nonverbal reasoning. The associations of AL with cognitive abilities were not mediated by these brain volume measures. AL did not predict cognitive change from age 11 to approximately age 73. The findings suggest a link between AL and later life brain health and cognitive functioning.
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Department of Psychology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. Electronic address: tom.booth@ed.ac.uk.
authors: Tom
authors: T
authors: Booth
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Brain Research Imaging Centre, Division of Neuroimaging Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors: Natalie A
authors: NA
authors: Royle
authors: Department of Psychology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors: Janie
authors: J
authors: Corley
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Department of Psychology, School of Life Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.
authors: Alan J
authors: AJ
authors: Gow
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Brain Research Imaging Centre, Division of Neuroimaging Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors: Maria del C
authors: Mdel C
authors: Valdés Hernández
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Brain Research Imaging Centre, Division of Neuroimaging Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors: Susana
authors: S
authors: Muñoz Maniega
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Department of Psychology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors: Stuart J
authors: SJ
authors: Ritchie
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Brain Research Imaging Centre, Division of Neuroimaging Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors: Mark E
authors: ME
authors: Bastin
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Geriatric Medicine Unit, The University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK.
authors: John M
authors: JM
authors: Starr
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Brain Research Imaging Centre, Division of Neuroimaging Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors: Joanna M
authors: JM
authors: Wardlaw
authors: Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Department of Psychology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors: Ian J
authors: IJ
authors: Deary
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D052636:Allostasis / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: Allostatic load; Cognitive ability; Gray-matter volume; Hippocampal volume; Structural equation modeling; White-matter volume