Association of Alzheimer's disease concerns with amyloid burden and lifestyle behaviors in cognitively unimpaired older adults

INTRODUCTIONThe extent to which Alzheimer's disease (AD) concerns relate to pathological changes in cognitively unimpaired populations is unclear. METHODSWe analyzed screening data from the Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's (A4) study to determine if AD concerns are associated with amyloid burden in cognitively unimpaired older adults, and how they relate to lifestyle. AD concerns were measured using the six-item Concerns about Alzheimer's Disease Questionnaire. Regression estimated the association of AD concerns with amyloid burden, adjusting for covariates. RESULTSOf 4460 individuals, AD concerns were elevated in women, people with a dementia family history, apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon 4 carriers, and individuals who did not meet walking or sleep guidelines. AD concerns were associated with higher amyloid burden (beta [95% CI] = 0.002 [0.001-0.003], p = 0.007), with stronger effects in APOE epsilon 4 carriers.DISCUSSIONAD concerns were associated with a core diagnostic AD biomarker. Assessing AD concerns could inform future recruitment strategies. Clinical Registration Trial:: ClinicalTrials.gov: ID NCT02008357. DISCUSSION AD concerns were associated with a core diagnostic AD biomarker. Assessing AD concerns could inform future recruitment strategies. Clinical Registration Trial:: ClinicalTrials.gov: ID NCT02008357.Highlights Alzheimer's disease (AD) concerns were associated with higher amyloid burden. AD concerns were associated with higher depressive symptoms in apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon 4 carriers. Concerns were associated with a lower likelihood of meeting daily walking guidelines. Associations were stronger in APOE epsilon 4 carriers compared to non-carriers.