Cerebral white matter hyperintensity volumes: Normative age- and sex-specific values from 15 population-based cohorts comprising 14,876 individuals

White matter hyperintensities (WMH) increase with age, with marked interindividual variation. There is a need for normative data by age and sex, to improve individualized WMH burden assessment. In this study, we pooled cross-sectional data from 15 population-based cohorts (14,876 nondemented individuals, age 18-97 years), through the Meta VCI Map consortium. Whole brain and tract-specific MRI-assessed WMH volumes were calculated in MNI-152 space. We used quantile regression to create centile curves of WMH volume versus age, stratified by sex. Total WMH volume and interindividual variance increased exponentially with age for both sexes, with females showing higher WMH volumes. WMH volume increase with aging was not uniform across the white matter, but instead followed one of three different patterns depending on location. Age- and sex-specific normative data for total and regional WMH volumes were created. Our study provides detailed information on the normal distribution of total and regional WMH volumes across adulthood. The normative data enable a quantitative approach to interpreting total and regional WMH volumes in clinical practice and research settings.

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Publication Details

Journal
Neurobiology of Aging
Published
2024-11-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.11.006
Citations
14
Primary Topic
Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
5.40

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article

Cerebral white matter hyperintensity volumes: Normative age- and sex-specific values from 15 population-based cohorts comprising 14,876 individuals

Cheryl R. McCreary, Evan Fletcher, Susana Muñoz Maniega, Charles DeCarli et al.
14 citations
Neurobiology of Aging
Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
5.40
article

Cerebral white matter hyperintensity volumes: Normative age- and sex-specific values from 15 population-based cohorts comprising 14,876 individuals

Cheryl R. McCreary, Evan Fletcher, Susana Muñoz Maniega, Charles DeCarli, Elisabeth J. Vinke, Joanna Marguerite Wardlaw, Sudha S. Seshadri, Götz Thomalla, Meike Willemijn Vernooij, Raphael Twerenbold, Vincent Mok, Henry Brodaty, Devasuda Anblagan, Christian Enzinger, Bastian Cheng, Geert Jan Biessels, Gennady V. Roshchupkin, Mark E. Bastin, M. Arfan Ikram, Perminder Singh Sachdev, Marius de Groot, Carole H. Sudre, J. Matthijs Biesbroek, Carola Mayer, Pauline Maillard, Jiyang Jiang, Bonnie Lam, Simon R. Cox, Marvin Petersen, Hugo J. Kuijf, Richard Frayne, Floor A.S. de Kort, Nish Chaturvedi, Wei Wen, Stephan Seiler, Maria Valdés Hernández, Felicia Huang, Alexa Beiser, Reinhold Schmidt, Ewoud J van der Lelij
article en
14 citations

Abstract

White matter hyperintensities (WMH) increase with age, with marked interindividual variation. There is a need for normative data by age and sex, to improve individualized WMH burden assessment. In this study, we pooled cross-sectional data from 15 population-based cohorts (14,876 nondemented individuals, age 18-97 years), through the Meta VCI Map consortium. Whole brain and tract-specific MRI-assessed WMH volumes were calculated in MNI-152 space. We used quantile regression to create centile curves of WMH volume versus age, stratified by sex. Total WMH volume and interindividual variance increased exponentially with age for both sexes, with females showing higher WMH volumes. WMH volume increase with aging was not uniform across the white matter, but instead followed one of three different patterns depending on location. Age- and sex-specific normative data for total and regional WMH volumes were created. Our study provides detailed information on the normal distribution of total and regional WMH volumes across adulthood. The normative data enable a quantitative approach to interpreting total and regional WMH volumes in clinical practice and research settings.

Neurobiology of AgingVol. 146
Boston University (US), NHS Lothian (GB), Universität Hamburg (DE), The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center (US), University of Calgary (CA), Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK), Medical University of Graz (AT), Erasmus MC (NL), University Medical Center Utrecht (NL), Department of Health and Aged Care (AU), Diakonessenhuis hospital (NL), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (DE), Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders (US), UK Dementia Research Institute (GB), German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DE), MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing (GB), University College London (GB), University of California, Davis (US), University of Edinburgh (GB)
Amgen, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Biogen, Wellcome Trust, Scottish Government, Neuroscience Research Australia, Health~Holland, Alzheimer's Society, Royal Society, Age UK, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Fondation Leducq, ZonMw, Austrian Science Fund, Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung, UK Dementia Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Directorate for Biological Sciences, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Medical Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Gender equality
Openalex Percentile: Top 3%
Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
5.40
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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