Short-term blood pressure variability and brain functional network connectivity in older adults

Isabel J. Sible; Jung Yun Jang; Anna E. Blanken; John Paul M. Alitin; Allie Engstrom; Shubir Dutt; Anisa J. Marshall; Arunima Kapoor; Fatemah Shenasa; Aimée Gaubert; Amy Nguyen; Farrah Ferrer; David R. Bradford; Kathleen E. Rodgers; Mara Mather; S. Duke Han; Daniel A. Nation

Neuroimage: Reports (Mar 2024)

Short-term blood pressure variability and brain functional network connectivity in older adults

Isabel J. Sible,
Jung Yun Jang,
Anna E. Blanken,
John Paul M. Alitin,
Allie Engstrom,
Shubir Dutt,
Anisa J. Marshall,
Arunima Kapoor,
Fatemah Shenasa,
Aimée Gaubert,
Amy Nguyen,
Farrah Ferrer,
David R. Bradford,
Kathleen E. Rodgers,
Mara Mather,
S. Duke Han,
Daniel A. Nation

Affiliations

Isabel J. Sible: Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
Jung Yun Jang: Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Anna E. Blanken: San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, San Francisco, CA, 94121, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
John Paul M. Alitin: Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
Allie Engstrom: Department of Psychological Science, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Shubir Dutt: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
Anisa J. Marshall: Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
Arunima Kapoor: Department of Psychological Science, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Fatemah Shenasa: Department of Psychological Science, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Aimée Gaubert: Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
Amy Nguyen: Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
Farrah Ferrer: Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
David R. Bradford: Center for Innovation in Brain Science, Department of Pharmacology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Kathleen E. Rodgers: Center for Innovation in Brain Science, Department of Pharmacology, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
Mara Mather: Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
S. Duke Han: Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Department of Family Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Alhambra, CA 91803, USA
Daniel A. Nation: Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Corresponding author. University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology 3715 McClintock Ave Los Angeles, CA. 90089, USA.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 4, no. 1
p. 100198

Abstract

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Background: Blood pressure variability is increasingly linked with cerebrovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease, independent of mean blood pressure levels. Elevated blood pressure variability is also associated with attenuated cerebrovascular reactivity, which may have implications for functional hyperemia underpinning brain network connectivity. It remains unclear whether blood pressure variability is related to functional network connectivity. We examined relationships between beat-to-beat blood pressure variability and functional connectivity in brain networks vulnerable to aging and Alzheimer's disease. Methods: 53 community-dwelling older adults (mean [SD] age = 69.9 [7.5] years, 62.3% female) without history of dementia or clinical stroke underwent continuous blood pressure monitoring and resting state fMRI scan. Blood pressure variability was calculated as variability independent of mean. Functional connectivity was determined by resting state fMRI for several brain networks: default, salience, dorsal attention, fronto-parietal, and language. Multiple linear regression examined relationships between short-term blood pressure variability and functional network connectivity. Results: Elevated short-term blood pressure variability was associated with lower functional connectivity in the default network (systolic: standardized ß = −0.30 [95% CI -0.59, −0.01], p = .04). There were no significant associations between blood pressure variability and connectivity in other functional networks or between mean blood pressure and functional connectivity in any network. Discussion: Older adults with elevated short-term blood pressure variability exhibit lower resting state functional connectivity in the default network. Findings support the role of blood pressure variability in neurovascular dysfunction and Alzheimer's disease. Blood pressure variability may represent an understudied early vascular risk factor for neurovascular dysfunction relevant to Alzheimer's disease, with potential therapeutic implications.

Published in Neuroimage: Reports

ISSN: 2666-9560 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/neuroimage-reports

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