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Head circumference as a useful surrogate for intracranial volume in older adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2015

Tammy T. Hshieh ,
Meaghan L. Fox ,
Cyrus M. Kosar ,
Michele Cavallari Open the ORCID record for Michele Cavallari [Opens in a new window] ,
Charles R. G. Guttmann ,
David Alsop Open the ORCID record for David Alsop [Opens in a new window] ,
Edward R. Marcantonio ,
Eva M. Schmitt ,
Richard N. Jones  and
Sharon K. Inouye
Tammy T. Hshieh*
Affiliation:
Division of Aging, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA Aging Brain Center, Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, USA
Meaghan L. Fox
Affiliation:
Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA University of Medicine and Health Sciences, St. Kitts, West Indies
Cyrus M. Kosar
Affiliation:
Aging Brain Center, Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, USA
Michele Cavallari
Affiliation:
Center for Neurological Imaging, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Charles R. G. Guttmann
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
David Alsop
Affiliation:
Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Edward R. Marcantonio
Affiliation:
Division of Aging, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA Aging Brain Center, Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, USA Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Eva M. Schmitt
Affiliation:
Aging Brain Center, Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, USA
Richard N. Jones
Affiliation:
Aging Brain Center, Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, USA Departments of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and Neurology, Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School, Providence, RI, USA
Sharon K. Inouye
Affiliation:
Aging Brain Center, Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, USA Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Tammy T. Hshieh, M.D. Division of Aging, Brigham and Women's Hospital, One Brigham Circle, 3rd floor, 02120, Boston, MA, USA. Phone: 401-536-6075; Fax: 617-525-7739. Email: thshieh@partners.org.
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Abstract

Background:

Intracranial volume (ICV) has been proposed as a measure of maximum lifetime brain size. Accurate ICV measures require neuroimaging which is not always feasible for epidemiologic investigations. We examined head circumference as a useful surrogate for ICV in older adults.

Methods:

99 older adults underwent Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). ICV was measured by Statistical Parametric Mapping 8 (SPM8) software or Functional MRI of the Brain Software Library (FSL) extraction with manual editing, typically considered the gold standard. Head circumferences were determined using standardized tape measurement. We examined estimated correlation coefficients between head circumference and the two MRI-based ICV measurements.

Results:

Head circumference and ICV by SPM8 were moderately correlated (overall r = 0.73, men r = 0.67, women r = 0.63). Head circumference and ICV by FSL were also moderately correlated (overall r = 0.69, men r = 0.63, women r = 0.49).

Conclusions:

Head circumference measurement was strongly correlated with MRI-derived ICV. Our study presents a simple method to approximate ICV among older patients, which may prove useful as a surrogate for cognitive reserve in large scale epidemiologic studies of cognitive outcomes. This study also suggests the stability of head circumference correlation with ICV throughout the lifespan.

Keywords

head circumferenceintracranial volumemagnetic resonance imagingbiomarkersolder adultselderly
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , January 2016 , pp. 157 - 162
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2015 

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