Circulating Metabolites Are Associated With Brain Atrophy And White Matter Hyperintensities

Introduction: Our aim was to study whether systemic metabolites are associated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of brain and hippocampal atrophy and white matter hyperintensities (WMH).Methods: We studied associations of 143 plasma-based metabolites with MRI measures of brain and hippocampal atrophy and WMH in three independent cohorts (n = 3962). We meta-analyzed the results of linear regression analyses to determine the association of metabolites with MRI measures.Results: Higher glucose levels and lower levels of three small high density lipoprotein (HDL) particles were associated with brain atrophy. Higher glucose levels were associated with WMH.Discussion: Glucose levels were associated with brain atrophy and WMH, and small HDL particle levels were associated with brain atrophy. Circulating metabolites may aid in developing future intervention trials.