Health awareness correlates with whole-brain gray matter volume in healthy adults

As populations continue to age, interest in brain health is increasing. However, little is known about the relationship between health awareness and brain health in healthy adults. In this study, psychological questionnaire data from 184 participants were analyzed using multiple regression, with brain structural measures obtained by MRI as the dependent variables. Health awareness was positively associated with gray matter volume (GMV) in the whole brain, temporal lobe, and occipital lobe, after controlling for sex, age, education, and BMI. These associations remained significant after correction for multiple comparisons. Consistent with self-regulated learning (SRL) strategy theory, being health conscious may help individuals adopt and maintain behaviors that support brain health. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate a correlation between health awareness and brain structure in healthy adult men and women.