Traumatic experiences have been linked to poor mental and physical health. However, there has been little examination of their relationship to neuroimaging markers of cerebrovascular risk. White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are markers of brain small vessel disease. WMHs can be detected decades before the onset of dementia and other disorders and can serve as early markers for these brain disorders. We tested whether traumatic experiences were associated with brain WMH volume among midlife women. In the MsBrain study, 145 women (mean age = 59 years) without cardiovascular disease, stroke, or dementia were recruited. Women completed questionnaires [trauma checklist, depression, post-traumatic stress measures]; physical measures [body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP)]; phlebotomy; actigraphy sleep measurement, and 3 Tesla magnetic resonance brain imaging for WMHs. Cross-sectional associations between traumatic experiences and WMH volume were assessed in linear regression models. Covariates were age, race/ethnicity, education, BMI, BP, lipids, preeclampsia, sleep, and additionally depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. 68% of women endorsed at least one of the traumas assessed. The most common trauma was sexual assault (23% of women). Women with trauma exposure had greater WMH volume than women without trauma [B(SE) = .24 (.09), p = .01, multivariable]. The single trauma most associated with WMH was sexual assault [B(SE) = .25 (.11), p = .02, multivariable]. Results persisted adjusting for depressive or post-traumatic stress symptoms. A trauma history, particularly sexual assault, was associated with greater WMH volume controlling for covariates, including depressive and post-traumatic symptoms. Sexual assault may place women at risk for poor brain health.

创伤经历与身心健康状况不佳有关。然而，很少有人研究它们与脑血管风险的神经影像标志物的关系。白质高信号（WMH）是脑小血管疾病的标志。 WMH 可以在痴呆症和其他疾病发作前数十年被检测到，并且可以作为这些大脑疾病的早期标志物。我们测试了中年女性的创伤经历是否与大脑 WMH 体积相关。在 MsBrain 研究中，招募了 145 名没有心血管疾病、中风或痴呆症的女性（平均年龄 = 59 岁）。女性完成了问卷调查[创伤清单、抑郁症、创伤后压力措施]；身体测量[体重指数（BMI）、血压（BP）]；放血;体动记录仪睡眠测量和 WMH 的 3 特斯拉磁共振脑成像。在线性回归模型中评估创伤经历与 WMH 体积之间的横截面关联。协变量包括年龄、种族/民族、教育程度、体重指数、血压、血脂、先兆子痫、睡眠以及抑郁和创伤后应激障碍症状。 68% 的女性至少认可一项所评估的创伤。最常见的创伤是性侵犯（23% 的女性）。遭受创伤的女性比没有创伤的女性具有更大的 WMH 量 [B(SE) = .24 (.09)，p = .01，多变量]。与 WMH 最相关的单一创伤是性侵犯 [B(SE) = .25 (.11)，p = .02，多变量]。结果仍然针对抑郁或创伤后应激症状进行了调整。创伤史，尤其是性侵犯，与控制协变量（包括抑郁和创伤后症状）后的 WMH 量增加有关。 性侵犯可能会使女性面临大脑健康状况不佳的风险。