Department of Geriatrics, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
Department of Geriatrics, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
J Psychiatr Res. 2023 Sep;165:174-179. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2023.07.026. Epub 2023 Jul 21.
Neuroticism is a major risk factor for neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. This study investigates whether neuroticism is associated with white matter hyperintensities and whether this measure of brain integrity is a mediator between neuroticism and cognitive function. Middle-aged and older adults from the UK Biobank (N = 40,602; aged 45-82 years, M = 63.97, SD = 7.66) provided information on demographic and health covariates, completed measures of neuroticism and cognition, and underwent magnetic resonance imaging from which the volume of white matter hyperintensities was derived. Regression analyses that included age and sex as covariates found that participants who scored higher on neuroticism had more white matter hyperintensities (β = 0.024, 95% CI 0.015 to 0.032; p < .001), an association that was consistent across peri-ventricular and deep brain regions. The association was reduced by about 40% when accounting for vascular risk factors (smoking, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attack, angina, and stroke). The association was not moderated by age, sex, college education, deprivation index, or APOE e4 genotype, and remained unchanged in sensitivity analyses that excluded individuals with dementia or those younger than 65. The mediation analysis revealed that white matter hyperintensities partly mediated the association between neuroticism and cognitive function. These findings identify white matter integrity as a potential neurobiological pathway that accounts for a small proportion of the association between neuroticism and cognitive health.
神经质是神经退行性疾病的一个主要风险因素，如阿尔茨海默病和相关痴呆症。本研究调查了神经质是否与脑白质高信号有关，以及脑白质完整性是否是神经质与认知功能之间的中介因素。来自英国生物库的中年和老年人（N=40602；年龄 45-82 岁，M=63.97，SD=7.66）提供了人口统计学和健康协变量、神经质和认知量表的信息，并接受了磁共振成像，从中得出脑白质高信号的体积。包括年龄和性别作为协变量的回归分析发现，神经质得分较高的参与者脑白质高信号较多（β=0.024，95%置信区间 0.015 至 0.032；p<0.001），这种关联在脑室周围和深部脑区都存在。当考虑到血管危险因素（吸烟、肥胖、糖尿病、高血压、心脏病发作、心绞痛和中风）时，这种关联减少了约 40%。这种关联不受年龄、性别、大学教育、贫困指数或 APOE e4 基因型的调节，在排除痴呆症或年龄小于 65 岁的个体的敏感性分析中保持不变。中介分析表明，脑白质高信号部分介导了神经质与认知功能之间的关联。这些发现确定了脑白质完整性作为潜在的神经生物学途径，该途径解释了神经质与认知健康之间关联的一小部分。
