Associations of late-life blood pressure with CERAD, Braak, and Thal: Findings from the National Alzheimer's coordinating center neuropathology dataset

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2-5-2025

Journal

Neuropathology : official journal of the Japanese Society of Neuropathology

DOI

10.1111/neup.13029

Keywords

Alzheimer's disease; Braak; CERAD; Thal; late‐life blood pressure

Abstract

Mid-life high blood pressure (BP) is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). CERAD amyloid β (Aβ) plaques, Braak tau neurofibrillary tangles, and Thal Aβ plaque location are major scoring systems for quantifying neuropathological features of AD. We examined the association of late-life systolic BP (SBP) with CERAD, Braak, and Thal in the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC) Neuropathology Dataset. Of 1978 participants with data on CERAD, 762 had scores 0-1 (none to sparse) and 1216 had 2-3 (moderate to frequent). Of 1947 with data on Braak, 411 had stages 0-II (normal to mild) and 1536 had III-VI (moderately to very severe). Of 2132 with data on Thal, 438 had phases 0-I, 428 II-III, and 1266 IV-V. Using the mean of the last four SBP before death, SBP was categorized into <120 (references), 120-139, and ≥140 mmHg. Age-sex-adjusted ORs (95% CIs) associated with SBP ≥140 mmHg for CERAD 2-3 and Braak III-VI were 1.37 (1.03, 1.83, P = 0.03) and 1.26 (0.89, 1.78, P = 0.20), respectively. Similar association was observed for Thal II-III and IV-V. These associations essentially remained unchanged after additional adjustment for APOE and Lewy Body pathology. These findings suggest that higher late-life SBP is associated with markers of presence and severity of neuropathological features of AD. Further studies with larger sample sizes are necessary to confirm the findings.

Department

Nursing Faculty Publications

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