Human study · Aging · 22 Sept 2026
Lower spinal bone density tracked faster cognitive decline and dementia-linked white-matter change
Source: RSNA / News-Medical
What the research found
Study (longitudinal secondary analysis). Sara Momtazmanesh, Shadpour Demehri, and colleagues report in Radiology (doi 10.1148/radiol.260656; RSNA 22 September 2026) using Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis scans. A deep-learning read of thoracic vertebral volumetric bone mineral density from non-contrast chest CT covered 2,086 people; 715 of them also had brain MRI and cognitive testing. White-matter hyperintensity follow-up was available for 408 and fractional anisotropy for 405. Lower baseline density tracked faster decline in global cognition, more white-matter hyperintensities in the corpus callosum, and a steeper drop in fractional anisotropy in the anterior limb of the internal capsule. The authors say this is not evidence that osteoporosis causes dementia. They frame it as a shared age-related pattern, rather than a direct bone-to-brain effect. The release does not state the cohort age span. Association only. Educational aging notes.
Evidence level: Human study. A study in people, but an association isn't proof of cause.
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