Associations of Carotid Arterial Compliance and White Matter Diffusion Metrics during Midlife: Modulation by Sex

Sex differences in cerebral white matter (WM) aging have been debated extensively over the past two decades without unequivocal resolution. We aimed to determine if the effects of age and arterial stiffness on white matter (WM) microstructure differ between sexes. Artery elasticity via carotid artery compliance (CAC) and WM diffusion metrics via diffusion tensor image derived fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were measured in 155 (87 females) middle-aged (40-62 years) adults. Males demonstrated poorer water diffusion metrics in WM than women in the corpus callosum body, cingulum, and cingulum (hippocampal).
Source: Neurobiology of Aging - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Source Type: research