Association of depression with Alzheimer’s disease plasma biomarkers in cognitively normal participants by race and ethnicity

Introduction:

- Depression may precede and be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

- Objective: Investigate the relationships between depression and AD plasma biomarkers in cognitively normal (CN) Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and NH white (NHW) participants.

- Plasma biomarkers include the amyloid-beta (Aβ) 42/40 ratio, phosphorylated (p) Tau-181, pTau-217, total tau, and neurofilament light (NfL).

 

Methods:

- Discovered datasets on the Global Alzheimer’s Association Interactive Network (GAAIN).

- Ascertained depression via the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS).

- Applied the CentiMarker (CM) method to linearly transform raw biomarker values by study.

- Conducted multivariate linear regressions between GDS scores and each plasma biomarker, adjusting for age, sex, years of education, and apolipoprotein E ε4 allele (APOE ε4) positivity.

 

Results: Multivariate linear regressions between GDS and plasma biomarkers in the CentiMarker (CM) scale, adjusting for age, sex, years of education, and APOE ε4 positivity.

 

Table: Descriptive statistics of the combined dataset.

 

Discussion:

- Worsening depressive symptoms were associated with the Aβ42/40 ratio, pTau-217, and total tau in NHW CN participants; with pTau-181, pTau-217, total tau, and NfL in Hispanic participants; and with NfL in NHB participants.

- These data suggest a biological influence of depression on AD pathology and neurodegeneration.

- Investigating neuropsychiatric conditions and racial and ethnic differences before the onset of cognitive impairment may be important in targeted AD and dementia prevention.

Learn more about GAAIN’s data sharing platform at www.gaain.org.