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Updated: Sep 30, 2026

Generalized Psychophysiological Interaction (PPI) Analysis of Memory Related Connectivity in Individuals at Genetic Risk for Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: November 14, 2017
Novel genetic profile linked to cognitive decline in Hispanics/Latinos
Yana Hrytsenko1,2, Yogesh Purushotham1, Zhirou Li1,3
1Cardiovascular division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Background:
The APOE ε4 allele has weaker association with ADRD outcomes in Hispanic/Latino populations compared to non-Hispanic White and East Asian populations.
Methods:
We used whole-genome sequencing data from 13,025 Hispanic/Latino adults to infer population groups (clusters) from short DNA sequences at the APOE gene region. We estimated the associations between these clusters and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and age-adjusted significant cognitive decline assessed via the Study of Latinos-Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging (SOL-INCA) study (n = 5334). We compared these associations to those of the conventional APOE alleles.
Results:
We identified three clusters of individuals. Relative to the largest Cluster 1, being in Cluster 3 had higher likelihood of having significant cognitive decline, with odds ratio (OR) = 1.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.18, 1.84], p < 0.001. The association with having prevalent MCI at the SOL-INCA exam was not statistically significant, with OR = 1.33, 95% CI [0.97, 1.83], p = 0.08. Associations of the ε4 allele with these traits were not statistically significant.
Discussion:
The new APOE profile has stronger risk association with age-adjusted significant cognitive decline in SOL-INCA Hispanics/Latinos compared to the ε4 allele.
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