Journal Article

FZJ-2026-02554

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png Predicting brain volumes from anthropometric and demographic features: insights from UK biobank neuroimaging data

Nazarzadeh, K. (Corresponding author)FZJ* ; Eickhoff, S. B.FZJ* ; Antonopoulos, G.FZJ* ; Hensel, L. ; Tscherpel, C. ; Komeyer, V.FZJ* ; Raimondo, F.FZJ* ; Grefkes, C. ; Patil, K. (Corresponding author)FZJ*

2026
Springer Heidelberg

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Please use a persistent id in citations: doi:10.1007/s00429-025-03070-9  doi:10.34734/FZJ-2026-02554

Abstract: Brain size measures are well-studied and often treated as a confound in volumetric neuroimaging analyses. Yet their relationship with body anthropometric measures and demographics remains underexplored. In this study, we examined those relationships alongside age- and sex-related differences in global brain volumes. Using brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of healthy participants in the UK Biobank, we derived global measures of brain morphometry, including total intracranial volume (TIV), total brain volume (TBV), gray matter volume (GMV), white matter volume (WMV), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We extracted these measures using the Computational Anatomy Toolbox (CAT) and FreeSurfer. Our analyses were structured in three approaches: across-sex analysis, sex-specific analysis, and impact of age analysis. Employing machine learning (ML), we found that TIV was strongly predicted by sex (across-sex formula image 0.68), reflecting sex difference. On the other hand, TBV, GMV, WMV, and CSF were more sensitive to age, with higher prediction accuracy when age was included as a feature, highlighting age-related changes in the brain structure, such as fluid expansion. Sex-specific models showed reduced TIV prediction (formula image 0.25) but improved TBV accuracy (formula image 0.44), underscoring sex-specific body-brain relationships. Anthropometric measures, particularly seated height and weight, improved prediction of TIV and TBV, while waist and hip circumference showed negative associations, though their effects generally remained secondary to age and sex. These findings advance our understanding of brain-body scaling relationships and underscore the necessity of accounting for age and sex in neuroimaging studies of brain morphology.

Note: Funding Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This research was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) - project-ID 431549029 - Collaborative Research Centre CRC1451 on motor performanceproject B05.

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Contributing Institute(s):

1. Kognitive Neurowissenschaften (INM-3)
2. Gehirn & Verhalten (INM-7)

Research Program(s):

1. 5252 - Brain Dysfunction and Plasticity (POF4-525) (POF4-525)
2. DFG project G:(GEPRIS)431549029 - SFB 1451: Schlüsselmechanismen normaler und krankheitsbedingt gestörter motorischer Kontrolle (431549029) (431549029)

Appears in the scientific report 2026

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; ; ; BIOSIS Previews ; Biological Abstracts ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; Current Contents - Life Sciences ; DEAL Springer ; Ebsco Academic Search ; Essential Science Indicators ; IF < 5 ; JCR ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Web of Science Core Collection ; Zoological Record

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