Exploring the Potential Association Between Self-Reported Psychological Stress and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease in Midlife: A Cross-Sectional Study

Katherine H Franks; Lachlan Cribb; Lisa Bransby; Rachel Buckley; Nawaf Yassi; Trevor T-J Chong; Yen Ying Lim; Matthew P Pase

doi:10.3233/ADR-230052

Exploring the Potential Association Between Self-Reported Psychological Stress and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease in Midlife: A Cross-Sectional Study

J Alzheimers Dis Rep. 2023 Sep 19;7(1):1025-1031. doi: 10.3233/ADR-230052. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Katherine H Franks¹, Lachlan Cribb¹, Lisa Bransby¹, Rachel Buckley^{2

3

4}, Nawaf Yassi^{5

6}, Trevor T-J Chong^{1

7

8}, Yen Ying Lim¹, Matthew P Pase^{1

9}

Affiliations

¹ Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
² Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
³ Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁴ Department of Neurology, Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
⁵ Department of Medicine and Neurology, Melbourne Brain Centre at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
⁶ Population Health and Immunity Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
⁷ Department of Neurology, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁸ Department of Clinical Neurosciences, St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁹ Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.

Abstract

Psychological stress is associated with dementia risk. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. This cross-sectional study examined the association between self-reported psychological stress and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease and neurodegeneration in 73 cognitively unimpaired middle-aged adults from the Healthy Brain Project (mean age = 58±7 years). Linear regression analyses did not reveal any significant associations of psychological stress with CSF amyloid-β₄₂, phosphorylated tau-181, total tau, or neurofilament light chain. Cohen's f² effect sizes were small in magnitude (f²≤0.08). Further research is needed to replicate our findings, particularly given that the sample reported on average low levels of stress.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; amyloid; biomarkers; dementia; psychological stress.