Summary: Living in underdeveloped areas does raise the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by boosting biomarkers linked to disease and aging. A long-term investigation of 334 older people found higher rates of tau and YKL-40, markers associated with Alzheimer’s and brain swelling, in individuals from less-privileged areas.
These associations continued even after age, gender, and education were taken into account. The findings point to the possibility that persistent stressors in relation to town conditions may contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Important Information
- Elevated Tau Levels: People in underprivileged neighborhoods had higher cerebrospinal fluid ( TAU), a crucial Alzheimer’s biomarker, levels.
- Increase in town disadvantage and increased C-reactive protein levels, a sign of systemic inflammation, were related to one another.
- Unabhängig of Age or Education: These associations continued to exist despite adjustments based on sex, age, and learning levels.
Origin: AAN
According to a study published on June 25, 2025 in , Neurology, people who live in more underdeveloped neighborhoods may have more indicators for disease and Alzheimer’s condition.
The study only demonstrates an association between these markers and area factors.
According to study author Angela L. Jefferson, PhD, a member of the American Academy of Neurology,” We haven’t known much about the procedures underlying this threat, but studies have shown that living in less developed neighborhoods may increase your risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
These findings point to a possible link between community downside and the development of Alzheimer’s illness, as well as markers of the disease itself.
334 individuals with an average period of 73 were included in the study. At the beginning of the study, individuals had their mental capabilities tested, as well as blood tests, mental images, and other mental exams. They also had to do the same after 18 weeks, three times, five, seven, and nine. At the same time, up to five years, specimens of the group’s cerebrospinal fluid were also taken from 180 people.
Home reputation was based on variables like income, employment, training, and disability.
People who inhabited areas with greater town handicap were more likely to have elevated levels of tau, a marker of Alzheimer’s disease, in their cerebral liquid at the start of the study.
According to Jefferson,” we found that greater town disadvantage was related to higher levels of tau, a crucial diagnostic of Alzheimer’s disease.”
This finding points out that having a more difficult neighborhood may lead to more demanding exposures that cause aging, increasing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Additionally, researchers discovered that participants ‘ spinal fluid had higher levels of the chitinase-3-like protein 1, or YKL-40, a marker of mental inflammation. Despite taking into account other variables that might influence levels of markers, such as older, more feminine, and less formal education, these observations still exist.
Researchers examined the results of a study that examined neighborhood disadvantage over time and how faster high levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein ( CRP ) in the blood, a well-established biomarker of inflammation, increased.
Every 10th percent in the neighborhood’s handicap was related to a yearly, CRP-measured, 0.05 milligrams per gallon greater, increase in inflammation.
According to Jefferson, “based on these results, medical providers may take area risk into account when they are working with people who may benefit from strategies to reduce infection levels through life interventions, such as stress reduction techniques and exercise.”
” Continued efforts should also be made to include people who reside in underprivileged neighborhoods in studies on the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.”
The study’s limitations were that the majority of the participants were white people who had received better education and lived in less-disabled neighborhoods overall, which makes the findings not apply to other races.
Funding: The Alzheimer’s Association and the National Institute on Aging, a division of the National Institutes of Health, provided funding for the study.
About this research on Alzheimer’s disease
Author: Renee Tessman
Source: AAN
Contact: Renee Tessman – AAN
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: The findings will be published in Neurology.
