Abstract

INTRODUCTION: We evaluated the association between carotid compliance, a measure of arterial stiffness, to parahippocampal volume (PHV) and hippocampal volume (HV) over 20 years later in the Atherosclerosis Risk in the Community study. METHODS: We included participants with common carotid compliance measurements at visit 1 (1987-1989) and volumetric brain MRI at visit 5 (2011-2013). The primary outcomes are pooled bilateral PHV and HV. We performed linear regression models adjusting for age, sex, vascular risk factors, and total brain volume. RESULTS: Of the 614 participants, higher compliance was correlated with higher PHV (<i>R</i> = 0.218[0.144-0.291], <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001) and HV (<i>R</i> = 0.181 [0.105-0.255, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001]). The association was linear and significant after adjusting for confounders. At follow-up MRI, 30 patients with dementia had lower PHV and HV than patients without dementia (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001 and <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: Carotid compliance is associated with higher PHV and HV when measured 20 years later, further supporting the link between arterial stiffness and cognitive decline.