Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is linked to later-life cognitive decline and brain aging, but early detection of vulnerability in midlife remains challenging. This study applied two methods to detect subtl Show more
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is linked to later-life cognitive decline and brain aging, but early detection of vulnerability in midlife remains challenging. This study applied two methods to detect subtle changes in midlife adults with MetS: (1) latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify cognitive performance patterns and (2) an MRI-derived brain-predicted age metric to assess structural brain aging. Participants were cognitively unimpaired, community-dwelling adults from prior studies on metabolic and brain health ( MetS prevalence differed across cognitive profiles (ฯ Cognitive profiles and brain-predicted age metrics identify early vulnerability in midlife MetS, underscoring the importance of early intervention. Show less