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Age and the association between apolipoprotein E genotype and Alzheimer disease: A cerebrospinal fluid biomarker-based case-control study
Saddiki H, Fayosse A, Cognat E, Sabia S, Engelborghs S, Wallon D, Alexopoulos P, Blennow K et al.. PLoS medicine, 2020-08-20
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Background The ε4 allele of apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene and increasing age are two of the most important known risk factors for developing Alzheimer disease (AD). The diagnosis of AD based on clinical symptoms alone is known to have poor specificity; recently developed diagnostic criteria based on biomarkers that reflect underlying AD neuropathology allow better assessment of the strength of the associations of risk factors with AD. Accordingly, we examined the global and age-specific association between APOE genotype and AD by using the A/T/N classification, relying on the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of β-amyloid peptide (A, β-amyloid deposition), phosphorylated tau (T, pathologic tau), and total tau (N, neurodegeneration) to identify patients with AD.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Saddiki, H., Fayosse, A., Cognat, E., Sabia, S., Engelborghs, S., Wallon, D., et al. (2020). Age and the association between apolipoprotein E genotype and Alzheimer disease: A cerebrospinal fluid biomarker-based case-control study. PLoS medicine. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003289
Vancouver
Saddiki H, Fayosse A, Cognat E, Sabia S, Engelborghs S, Wallon D, et al. Age and the association between apolipoprotein E genotype and Alzheimer disease: A cerebrospinal fluid biomarker-based case-control study. PLoS medicine. 2020. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1003289. PMID: 32817639.
BibTeX
@article{saddiki2020-32817639,
author = {Saddiki, H. and Fayosse, A. and Cognat, E. and Sabia, S. and Engelborghs, S. and Wallon, D. and Alexopoulos, P. and Blennow, K. and others},
title = {{Age and the association between apolipoprotein E genotype and Alzheimer disease: A cerebrospinal fluid biomarker-based case-control study}},
journal = {PLoS medicine},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pmed.1003289},
pmid = {32817639},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003289}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- The diagnosis of AD based on clinical symptoms alone is known to have poor specificity; recently developed diagnostic criteria based on biomarkers that reflect underlying AD neuropathology allow better assessment of the strength of the associations of risk factors with AD.
- Accordingly, we examined the global and age-specific association between APOE genotype and AD by using the A/T/N classification, relying on the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of β-amyloid peptide (A, β-amyloid deposition), phosphorylated tau (T, pathologic tau), and total tau (N, neurodegeneration) to identify patients with AD.
- Methods and findings This case-control study included 1,593 white AD cases (55.4% women; mean age 72.8 [range = 44-96] years) with abnormal values of CSF biomarkers from nine European memory clinics and the American Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) study.
- A total of 11,723 dementia-free controls (47.1% women; mean age 65.6 [range = 44-94] years) were drawn from two longitudinal cohort studies (Whitehall II and Three-City), in which incident cases of dementia over the follow-up were excluded from the control population.
Why it matters
This study used cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers to examine how the APOE ε4 risk gene relates to Alzheimer's disease across different ages. It does not test any treatment or prevention, but may help researchers better identify who has Alzheimer's disease for future studies.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Blood tests & biomarkers →
Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants1,593
- Effect size55.4%; 47.1%; 63.4%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 66/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (PLoS medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | PLoS Medicine: journal h-index 350 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 1,593 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 80 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.0 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.4× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 8 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 40 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Julien Dumurgier: h-index 53 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University College London: institution h-index 2,029 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 31 institution(s) in 7 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 32817639) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 66 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003289
- PubMed: 32817639
- Original source →
- Free full text: PLoS Medicine →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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