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Hypertension Modifies Age-Related Change of Hippocampal Subfield Volumes: A Four-Year Longitudinal Study

Poster Session B - Sunday, March 8, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Roya Homayouni¹ (), Alexis N. Chargo¹, Samaah Saifullah¹, Kelsey L. Canada², Cheryl L. Dahle¹, Naftali Raz³, Ana M. Daugherty¹; ¹Wayne State University, MI, ²University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA, ³Stony Brook University, NY

The hippocampus, a key neural structure supporting episodic memory, comprises distinct subfields including the dentate gyrus (DG), Cornu Ammonis (CA1–3), and subiculum. Hippocampal subfields typically show age-related volumetric decline across adulthood, but subfield aging may be differentially vulnerable to hypertension. Here, we examined age-related changes in hippocampal subfield and entorhinal cortex (EC) volumes among normotensive and hypertensive adults (baseline age: 18–83 years; baseline n = 265) across 2 (ΔT₂–T₁) and 4 years (ΔT₃–T₂) follow-up intervals, while accounting for individual differences in body roundness index. Latent change score modeling revealed no significant mean volume change in either group across intervals, though substantial individual differences in change were observed in all regions. Baseline age partially explained this variability in the change of subfield volumes, but not of the EC. Among normotensive adults, age trajectories remained largely stable over time (p > .025). Hypertensive adults showed a pattern of accelerated shrinkage of the DG-CA3 and subiculum (p < .006) in older age by the 4-year follow-up. The 4-year age trajectory differed significantly from that of the normotensive group for DG-CA3 (p = .01) and was greater in magnitude across all subfields compared to the 2-year interval (p < .014). Body roundness index was not significantly associated with change patterns in regional volumes (p > .05). These findings reveal a dynamic, age-dependent, and region-specific pattern of hippocampal aging linked to cardiovascular risk, underscoring the importance of identifying sensitive periods for intervention to mitigate late-life memory decline.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Development & aging