Differential effects of age and history of hypertension on regional brain volumes and iron

►Aging differentially affects regional brain volume and iron concentration, but the relative magnitude of those effects have not been compared in vivo. ►In a sample of healthy adults, we observed similar patterns of age-related differences in volume and T2* (index of iron) neocortex and neostriatum content. ►In contrast, in the medial-temporal structures, iron accumulation showed stronger association with age than volume did. ►Hypertensive participants exhibited higher iron concentration than normotensives of the same age. ►Iron content as measured by T2* may be a sensitive index of regional brain aging.