Thalamic gray matter volume mediates the association between KIBRA polymorphism and olfactory function among older adults: a population-based study

• Published in: Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. 1991) N.Y. 1991), 2023-03, Vol.33 (7), p.3664-3673
• Main Authors: Song, Lin, Han, Xiaodong, Li, Yuanjing, Han, Xiaolei, Zhao, Mingqing, Li, Chunyan, Wang, Pin, Wang, Jiafeng, Dong, Yi, Cong, Lin, Han, Xiaojuan, Hou, Tingting, Liu, Keke, Wang, Yongxiang, Qiu, Chengxuan, Du, Yifeng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Brain; Cerebral Cortex; Cross-Sectional Studies; Gray Matter - diagnostic imaging; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; MRI; old age; Olfaction Disorders; orbitofrontal cortex; Original; thalamus; Thalamus - diagnostic imaging; voxel-based morphometry
• ISSN: 1047-3211; 1460-2199; 1460-2199
• DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac299

Abstract The kidney and brain expressed protein (KIBRA) rs17070145 polymorphism is associated with both structure and activation of the olfactory cortex. However, no studies have thus far examined whether KIBRA can be linked with olfactory function and whether brain structure plays any role in the association. We addressed these questions in a population-based cross-sectional study among rural-dwelling older adults. This study included 1087 participants derived from the Multidomain Interventions to Delay Dementia and Disability in Rural China, who underwent the brain MRI scans in August 2018 to October 2020; of these, 1016 took the 16-item Sniffin’ Sticks identification test and 634 (62.40%) were defined with olfactory impairment (OI). Data were analyzed using the voxel-based morphometry analysis and general linear, logistic, and structural equation models. The KIBRA rs17070145 C-allele (CC or CT vs. TT genotype) was significantly associated with greater gray matter volume (GMV) mainly in the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex and left thalamus (P