Lifetime influences on imaging markers of adverse brain health and vascular disease Link to paper at Cerebral Circulation - Cognition and BehaviorAuthorsEllen V Backhouse, Sarah Bauermeister, Joanna M WardlawAbstractCerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) is highly prevalent in the general population, increases with age and vascular risk factor exposure, and is a common cause of stroke and dementia. There is great variation in cSVD burden experienced in older age, and maintaining brain health across the life course requires looking beyond an individual's current clinical status and traditional vascular risk factors. Of particular importance are social determinants of health which can be more important than healthcare or lifestyle choices in influencing later life health outcomes, including brain health. In this paper we discuss the social determinants of cerebrovascular disease, focusing on the impact of socioeconomic status on markers of cSVD. We outline the potential mechanisms behind these associations, including early life exposures, health behaviours and brain reserve and maintenance, and we highlight the importance of public health interventions to address the key determinants and risk factors for cSVD from early life stages.ConclusionMaintaining brain health across the life course leads to better mental and physical health, more successful aging, improved quality of life and longer functional independence, which in turn has positive social and economic impacts. Maintaining brain health is therefore an important public health challenge that can be mitigated through effective societal approaches incorporating a life course approach to address the key determinants and risk factors from early life stages. Strategies for reducing social inequalities should be at the forefront of population-based policies and programmes for health development. There is a danger that the improvements in health in older age evident in some affluent countries could be reversed unless policies are put in place to mitigate the rising inequalities and the increasing levels of obesity, diabetes and other health outcomes evident in some high-income countries. This is particularly important given the recent COVID-19 pandemic which has exacerbated existing inequalities with particularly negative health outcomes for those already disadvantaged in society.KeywordsCerebral small vessel disease Brain HealthCOVID-19 Related linksLink to paper at Cerebral Circulation - Cognition and BehaviorEllen V BackhouseJoanna M WardlawThe Row Fogo CentreEdinburgh ImagingCerebral small vessel disease Brain HealthCOVID-19 Social media tags and titlesFeatured Paper: Lifetime influences on imaging markers of adverse brain health and vascular disease@SVDResearch @EdinUniImaging This article was published on 2024-08-22
