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Regional choroid plexus calcifications and their associations with aging, brain structure, and disease
Ba Gari I, Zhu A, Bhatt RR, Nir TM, Jahanshad N.. bioRxiv, 2026-09-16
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
The choroid plexus (CP) maintains brain homeostasis through cerebrospinal fluid production and formation of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier, and its dysfunction has been linked with aging and neurological disease. CP dysfunction may involve both enlargement and calcific tissue change, which may reflect distinct processes; yet population neuroimaging has focused on lateral ventricle CP volume, which cannot directly identify calcified tissue. Using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) in 30,012 UK Biobank participants, we conducted, to our knowledge, the first large scale multi-ventricular study of CP calcification (CPcal), quantifying the lateral (LV), third (3rdV) and fourth (4thV) ventricles. We examined associations with age and sex, endocrine, nutritional and metabolic, mental and behavioral, nervous system, and circulatory diagnoses; family history of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD); cardiometabolic traits; and brain macrostructure, white matter microstructure, and subcortical susceptibility. CPcal increased with age (largest association: LV, r = 0.191) and was greater in males in the LV and 3rdV (d = 0.249-0.359) and more prevalent in the 4thV (OR = 1.274). Greater CPcal was associated with endocrine and metabolic, psychiatric, nervous system, and circulatory disorders, with the strongest and most consistent associations observed in the 3rdV (d = 0.097 - 0.125) and persisted after adjustment for ventricular volume, particularly for diabetes (d = 0.303) and tobacco use disorder (d = 0.314). Maternal ADRD family history was associated with greater LV CPcal (d = 0.063). CPcal was also associated with cortical and subcortical volumes (r = 0.033 - 0.046), white matter microstructure (r = 0.017 - 0.042), and subcortical susceptibility (r = −0.064 - 0.131). QSM-derived CPcal is a scalable, radiation-free imaging phenotype that complements volumetry by characterizing calcific CP tissue, which is associated with cardiometabolic health, brain aging, and neurodegenerative risk, particularly in the third ventricle.
Key findings
- Greater CPcal was associated with endocrine and metabolic, psychiatric, nervous system, and circulatory disorders, with the strongest and most consistent associations observed in the 3rdV (d = 0.097 - 0.125) and persisted after adjustment for ventricular volume, particularly for diabetes (d = 0.303) and tobacco use disorder (d = 0.314).
- Maternal ADRD family history was associated with greater LV CPcal (d = 0.063).
- CPcal was also associated with cortical and subcortical volumes (r = 0.033 - 0.046), white matter microstructure (r = 0.017 - 0.042), and subcortical susceptibility (r = −0.064 - 0.131).
- QSM-derived CPcal is a scalable, radiation-free imaging phenotype that complements volumetry by characterizing calcific CP tissue, which is associated with cardiometabolic health, brain aging, and neurodegenerative risk, particularly in the third ventricle.
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Study details
- Effect sizeOR = 1.274
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 26 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for study design, sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 16 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 26 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (bioRxiv) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 16 / 62 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 16 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 26 out of 100. |
| Total | 26 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
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APA 7th
Ba Gari, I., Zhu, A., Bhatt, R. R., Nir, T. M., & Jahanshad, N. (2026). Regional choroid plexus calcifications and their associations with aging, brain structure, and disease. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.10.750525
Vancouver
Ba Gari I, Zhu A, Bhatt RR, Nir TM, Jahanshad N. Regional choroid plexus calcifications and their associations with aging, brain structure, and disease. bioRxiv. 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.09.10.750525.
BibTeX
@article{bagari2026-9cae63ba,
author = {Ba Gari, I. and Zhu, A. and Bhatt, R. R. and Nir, T. M. and Jahanshad, N.},
title = {{Regional choroid plexus calcifications and their associations with aging, brain structure, and disease}},
journal = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.10.750525},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.10.750525}
}