J Alzheimer dis: twin studies reveal the relationship between heart and brain health

October 23, 2019 / BIOON / -- recently, a study published by researchers from Emory University in Journal of Alzheimer's disease shows that good heart health is closely related to good brain health This study provides us with two reasons to pay attention to cardiovascular health The American Heart Association defined the ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) standard after combining the impact of seven risk factors on heart health (blood glucose, serum cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index, physical activity, diet and smoking) The higher the CVH score, the better the heart health and the lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) Previous studies have shown that ideal CVH values also contribute to brain health and prevent cognitive impairment caused by aging However, the role of genes and / or environmental factors in cardiovascular abnormalities and cognitive decline has not been known By studying twin brothers in the Vietnam twin register, the researchers looked at the relationship between CVH and cognitive ability in all participants Twin study is a special type of epidemiological study, which enables researchers to examine the role of genes and environment in behavioral characteristics or diseases respectively Identical twins have the same genetic material, but different twins have 50% similarity in genetic material For a given feature or medical condition, any excessive similarity between identical and fraternal twins may suggest that the feature is more related to genes than to environmental factors In general, twin studies can be used to distinguish between "genetic" and "environmental" roles in a given trait (image source: www Pixabay Com) "our study of the entire twin sample confirmed a positive correlation between CVH values and cognitive health," said senior author violet Vaccarino, MD In order to determine the effect of genetic and environmental factors on the above diseases, the researchers further subdivided the data of participants to determine whether the CVH and cognitive function of identical and fraternal twins were different The results showed that identical twins and fraternal twins had similar correlation Therefore, the author believes that family factors (such as early family environment, early socio-economic status and education level) may be important predictors of cardiovascular and brain health, so it can explain some of the relationship between CVH and cognition Dr Ambar kulshreshtha, one of the authors and assistant professor of family and preventive medicine, said: "CVH scores in the American population are extremely low, which is a great burden for dementia and heart disease However, because CVH factors can be changed, it is an effective way to improve cardiovascular and brain health to prevent cardiovascular risk factors and develop a healthy life style since childhood " Sources of information: twin study shows what's good for the heart is good for the brain original sources: Ambar kulshreshtha, Margaret Goetz, Alvaro Alonso, Amit J Shah, J Douglas Bremner, Jack Goldberg, Viola Vaccarino Association between cardiovascular health and cognitive performance: a twin study Journal of Alzheimer's disease, 2019; 71 (3): 957 DOI: 10.3233/JAD-190217