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Public Health
Jennifer J Manly1, Adam Brickman1, Soobin Kim2
1Department of Neurology, Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, New York, NY, USA.
Alzheimer'S & Dementia : the Journal of the Alzheimer'S Association
|December 23, 2025
Summary
Blood biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and neurodegeneration show limited association with cognitive function in middle-aged adults. These relationships were not moderated by early life factors like education, socioeconomic status, sex, race, or region.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomarkers
- Cognitive Aging
Background:
- Blood-based biomarkers offer new avenues for studying neurodegeneration in diverse populations.
- Investigating the link between blood biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cognitive function in population-representative samples is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between plasma AD biomarkers and cognitive function in middle-aged adults.
- To determine if high school educational experiences moderate this relationship.
- To explore differences in these associations based on early life socioeconomic status (SES), sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and US region.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the High School and Beyond (HS&B:80) cohort, assessing participants at age ~60.
- Collected plasma biomarkers (amyloid beta 42:40 ratio, pTau-181, NfL, GFAP) and cognitive measures (word list learning, paired associates learning, fluency, number span).
- Employed regression models to analyze associations between plasma biomarkers and cognitive function, controlling for various demographic and early life factors.
Main Results:
- Better global cognition correlated with lower plasma p-tau-181 and NfL, and higher amyloid beta 40/42 ratio.
- Higher GFAP levels were associated with better cognitive function.
- Paired associate learning showed the most consistent associations with plasma biomarkers.
- No significant effect modification was found for educational experience, early life SES, sex/gender, race/ethnicity, or US region.
Conclusions:
- Plasma biomarkers explained minimal variation in cognitive function at age 60 in a population-representative sample.
- The associations between blood-based AD biomarkers and cognitive function were not influenced by early life SES, race/ethnicity, sex/gender, US region, or educational background.
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