Heart Health May Influence Brain Connectivity Linked to Memory in Older Adults

New research finds cardiovascular risk factors may weaken brain connections involved in memory—offering insight into Alzheimer’s prevention.

A study published in Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy has found that common cardiovascular risk factors—like high LDL cholesterol, belly fat, smoking, and alcohol use—are linked to weaker brain connections in a key memory-related network in older adults. The findings suggest that protecting heart health may also help preserve brain function as we age.

Researchers from the Medit-Ageing Research Group studied 131 healthy adults aged 65 and older who were part of the Age-Well study in France. The participants had no signs of cognitive impairment and underwent brain scans (using resting-state fMRI) along with health assessments at the start of the study and again 18 months later.

The researchers focused on two important brain systems known to support memory and thinking:

• The posterior-medial (PM) network, which involves regions toward the back and middle of the brain, and
• The anterior-temporal (AT) network, located more toward the front and side of the brain.

These networks are known to be especially vulnerable to aging and Alzheimer’s disease.

They found that higher levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, abdominal fat, long-term smoking, and greater alcohol intake were all associated with weaker functional connectivity in the posterior-medial network. This means the brain regions in this network weren’t communicating as strongly with each other in people with those risk factors. Interestingly, only LDL cholesterol remained statistically significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons—suggesting it may have the most direct effect on brain connectivity. There were no similar effects observed in the anterior-temporal network.

The weakened brain connectivity occurred regardless of genetic Alzheimer’s risk (such as APOE-ε4 status), and it was not offset by lifestyle factors like physical activity or the Mediterranean diet, at least when examined separately.

The study adds to growing evidence that heart and brain health are closely linked. While these adults showed no signs of memory loss yet, the changes in brain connectivity may reflect early vulnerability to cognitive decline. By managing cardiovascular risk factors—especially cholesterol—people may be able to support better brain aging and possibly reduce their risk of Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms begin.