Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia worldwide, and bears remarkable evidence for a differential prevalence among continental populations. In this scenario, estimating ancestry proportions in recently admixed populations is a strategy that can help increasing knowledge about the genetic structure of this complex trait.
Aim/methods: Our purpose was to assess mean ancestry estimates for the three main parental contributors to the Brazilian contingent (European, African and Amerindian) using a panel of 12 ancestry informative markers. Outpatients with the late-onset form of AD (n = 120) were compared for ancestry levels with non-cognitively impaired subjects (n = 412) in the Midwest Brazil, controlling for classic clinical, social and anthropometric risk factors.
Results: Our findings show a 3-fold greater genetic Amerindian content among control subjects compared to AD patients (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Our results suggest that the allelic architecture of Native Americans can confer protection against the onset of the disease.
Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.