Structural social factors modify the association between Alzheimer’s pathology and cognitive function - 11/04/26
Benvenuto su EM|consulte, il riferimento dei professionisti della salute.
Articolo gratuito.
Si connetta per beneficiarne
Abstract |
Background |
Social factors have been linked to cognitive decline and risk of dementia. However, our understanding of their impact on cognition in the context of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology is still limited.
Objectives |
This study examined whether two structural social factors, relationship status (RS) and living situation (LS), modify the association between AD pathology and cognition.
Design |
Observational, analysis of existing cohort data.
Setting |
Data were obtained from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC) and the Imaging Dementia–Evidence for Amyloid Scanning (IDEAS) study.
Participants |
Participants with available data on cognitive performance, AD pathology, and structural social factors.
Measurements |
We used the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), a widely used brief screening measure of global cognitive status. For the description of AD, postmortem neuropathology (NACC) reports, or amyloid PET (IDEAS) were used. RS and LS were coded according to the respective datasets. Group comparisons and regression models were used to evaluate interactions between RS or LS with AD pathology on cognition.
Results |
Across cohorts, up to 31% of individuals were not in a relationship, and up to 22% lived alone. Individuals in a relationship (RS+) or those who lived with someone (LS+) showed poorer cognitive performance than those not in a relationship (RS-) or living alone (LS-) at comparable levels of AD pathology. Interaction analyses indicated that the association between AD pathology and MMSE differed by LS, with LS+ being associated with slightly lower MMSE scores across pathology levels, an effect primarily driven by participants living with someone who is not a partner. In contrast, within the NACC cohort, RS+ individuals showed overall lower MMSE scores, while the association between AD pathology and MMSE was weaker compared to RS− individuals.
Discussion |
LS and RS showed differences in how AD pathology related to global cognitive status. Being in a relationship was linked to a weaker association between AD pathology and global cognitive status, whereas living with someone was associated with a lower global cognitive status at comparable levels of pathology. While the direction of these associations remains unclear, our findings suggest that the relationship between AD pathology and cognitive status may vary across different structural social contexts.
Il testo completo di questo articolo è disponibile in PDF.Keywords : Structural social factors, AD pathology, Cognitive function
Mappa
Vol 13 - N° 6
Articolo 100563- giugno 2026 Ritorno al numero
Articolo precedente
- Assessment of clinical and neuroimaging efficacy of treatment targeting tau pathology in mild cognitive impairment and mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease with hydromethylthionine mesylate using external control data
- Bjoern O Schelter, Helen Shiells, Serena Lo, Nafeesa Nazlee, Emily Evans, Peter Bentham, Serge Gauthier, Henrik Zetterberg, Gordon K Wilcock, Lutz Froelich, Alistair Burns, Emer MacSweeney, Clive Ballard, Jin-Tai Yu, Tay Siew Choon, Vahe Asvatourian, Natalia Muehlemann, Jan Priel, Karin Kook, Tenecia Sullivan, Diane Downie, Sonya Miller, Carol Pringle, John M․D Storey, Tom Baddeley, Charles R Harrington, Roger Staff, Anca-Larisa Sandu, Claire Hull, Richard Stefanacci, Claude M Wischik, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
- Multidimensional modeling of biological aging: integrating gait, eye movement, rest-state functional connectivity, and plasma biomarkers in non-dementia older adults
- Jingyi Lin, Yiliang Liu, Ziyu Ouyang, Xuan Yang, Sizhe Zhang, Tianyan Xu, Qijie Yang, Yuan Zhu, Meidan Wan, Xuewen Xiao, Xiangmin Fan, Beisha Tang, Lu Shen, Bin Jiao, Shilin Luo
Benvenuto su EM|consulte, il riferimento dei professionisti della salute.