Sex Differences in Cognitive Decline in Subjects with High Likelihood of Mild Cognitive Impairment due to Alzheimer's disease

Dongwha Sohn; Katie Shpanskaya; Joseph E Lucas; Jeffrey R Petrella; Andrew J Saykin; Rudolph E Tanzi; Nagiza F Samatova; P Murali Doraiswamy

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-25377-w

Sex Differences in Cognitive Decline in Subjects with High Likelihood of Mild Cognitive Impairment due to Alzheimer's disease

Sci Rep. 2018 May 10;8(1):7490. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-25377-w.

Authors

Dongwha Sohn^{1

2}, Katie Shpanskaya³, Joseph E Lucas⁴, Jeffrey R Petrella⁵, Andrew J Saykin⁶, Rudolph E Tanzi⁷, Nagiza F Samatova^{1

2}, P Murali Doraiswamy⁸

Affiliations

¹ North Carolina State University, Department of Computer Science, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA.
² Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA.
³ Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Stanford, CA, 94025, USA.
⁴ Duke University, Department of Statistical Science, Durham, NC, 27708, USA.
⁵ Duke University Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Durham, NC, 27710, USA.
⁶ Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center and the Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
⁷ Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Genetics and Aging Research Unit and Department of Neurology, Stanford, CA, 02129, USA.
⁸ Duke University Health System, Neurocognitive Disorders Program, Department of Psychiatry and the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Durham, NC, 27710, USA. murali.doraiswamy@duke.edu.

Abstract

Sex differences in Alzheimer's disease (AD) biology and progression are not yet fully characterized. The goal of this study is to examine the effect of sex on cognitive progression in subjects with high likelihood of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer's and followed up to 10 years in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Cerebrospinal fluid total-tau and amyloid-beta (Aβ42) ratio values were used to sub-classify 559 MCI subjects (216 females, 343 males) as having "high" or "low" likelihood for MCI due to Alzheimer's. Data were analyzed using mixed-effects models incorporating all follow-ups. The worsening from baseline in Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive score (mean, SD) (9 ± 12) in subjects with high likelihood of MCI due to Alzheimer's was markedly greater than that in subjects with low likelihood (1 ± 6, p < 0.0001). Among MCI due to AD subjects, the mean worsening in cognitive score was significantly greater in females (11.58 ± 14) than in males (6.87 ± 11, p = 0.006). Our findings highlight the need to further investigate these findings in other populations and develop sex specific timelines for Alzheimer's disease progression.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Alzheimer Disease / diagnosis
Alzheimer Disease / epidemiology*
Alzheimer Disease / etiology*
Alzheimer Disease / pathology
Cognition / physiology*
Cognitive Dysfunction / diagnosis
Cognitive Dysfunction / epidemiology*
Cognitive Dysfunction / etiology*
Disease Progression
Female
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Neuroimaging
Neuropsychological Tests
Prevalence
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
Sex Characteristics*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding