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Published on: August 22, 2012
Public Health
Pam Factor-Litvak1, Piera Cirillo2, Isha Mhatre-Winters3
1Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
Chronic stress, measured as allostatic load (AL), is linked to lower levels of a key Alzheimer's biomarker in midlife adults. Early interventions targeting AL may reduce Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) risk.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Public Health
- Biomarkers
Background:
- Allostatic load (AL) quantifies cumulative physiological stress.
- Studies on AL and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) often lack ADRD biomarkers.
- This study examines AL and plasma Aβ 42/40 ratio in a longitudinal birth cohort.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between allostatic load (AL) and plasma Aβ 42/40 ratio.
- To explore the relationship between individual AL components and plasma Aβ 42/40 ratio.
- To assess these associations in a mid-life cohort without known memory impairment.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 367 offspring from a 1960-1963 birth cohort for a 2010 follow-up.
- Measured plasma Aβ 42/40 ratio using stored midlife blood samples.
- Assessed AL using 10 biomarkers (metabolic, inflammatory, cardiovascular, neuroendocrine) and logistic regression.
Main Results:
- Higher AL was significantly associated with an increased risk of low plasma Aβ 42/40 ratio (OR=1.20, p<.01).
- Metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers were individually linked to Aβ 42/40.
- Cardiovascular markers showed no association; neuroendocrine markers had borderline associations.
Conclusions:
- In mid-life adults, allostatic load is associated with plasma Aβ 42/40, an ADRD predictor.
- Routine health screening biomarkers for AL could inform early ADRD risk reduction.
- Further research is needed to confirm these findings and their implications for intervention.
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