Home › Research › Disparities
Characterizing plasma NfL in a community-dwelling multi-ethnic cohort: Results from the HABLE study
O'Bryant S, Petersen M, Hall J, Johnson L, Yaffe K, Braskie M, Toga AW, Rissman RA et al.. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2021-07-26
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Introduction No large-scale characterizations of neurofilament light chain (NfL) have been conducted in diverse populations. Methods Baseline data were analyzed among n = 890 Mexican Americans and n = 813 non-Hispanic Whites from the multi-ethnic Health & Aging Brain among Latino Elders (HABLE) study. Plasma NfL was measured on the Simoa platform. Results In unadjusted models, NfL was significantly associated with age (P Discussion Plasma NfL levels are significantly impacted by age and medical co-morbidities that are common among older adults, which complicate its utility as a diagnostic biomarker.
Key findings
- Results In unadjusted models, NfL was significantly associated with age (P Discussion Plasma NfL levels are significantly impacted by age and medical co-morbidities that are common among older adults, which complicate its utility as a diagnostic biomarker.
Why it matters
Plasma neurofilament light chain levels were significantly associated with age and with medical co-morbidities common among older adults, which the authors say complicates its utility as a diagnostic biomarker. This is about a biomarker's limitations, not about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Disparities →
Study details
- Participants890
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 55/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 53 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 55 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2022 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 890 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 79 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 13.2 citations a year over 6 year(s) since 2022 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 8.6× 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 45 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, San Francisco: institution h-index 1,915 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 34310015) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 53 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 53 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 55 out of 100. |
| Total | 55 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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.
APA 7th
O'Bryant, S., Petersen, M., Hall, J., Johnson, L., Yaffe, K., Braskie, M., et al. (2022). Characterizing plasma NfL in a community-dwelling multi-ethnic cohort: Results from the HABLE study. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12404
Vancouver
O'Bryant S, Petersen M, Hall J, Johnson L, Yaffe K, Braskie M, et al. Characterizing plasma NfL in a community-dwelling multi-ethnic cohort: Results from the HABLE study. Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 2022. doi:10.1002/alz.12404. PMID: 34310015.
BibTeX
@article{obryant2022-34310015,
author = {O'Bryant, S. and Petersen, M. and Hall, J. and Johnson, L. and Yaffe, K. and Braskie, M. and Toga, A. W. and Rissman, R. A. and others},
title = {{Characterizing plasma NfL in a community-dwelling multi-ethnic cohort: Results from the HABLE study}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1002/alz.12404},
pmid = {34310015},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12404}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Later studies that cite this one
8 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.
Related studies in Disparities
Also in Disparities
98 studies in the library are filed under Disparities with no topic tag they share with another; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed tour of them. The Disparities hub.