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Depression is Associated with Tau and Not Amyloid Positron Emission Tomography in Cognitively Normal Adults
Babulal GM, Roe CM, Stout SH, Rajasekar G, Wisch JK, Benzinger TLS, Morris JC, Ances BM.. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2020-01-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Background Depression is also common with older age. Alzheimer's disease (AD) studies suggest that both cerebrospinal fluid and positron emission tomography (PET) amyloid biomarkers are associated with more depressive symptoms in cognitively normal older adults. The recent availability of tau radiotracers offers the ability to examine in vivo tauopathy. It is unclear if the tau biomarker is associated with depression diagnosis. Objective We examined if tau and amyloid imaging were associated with a depression diagnosis among cognitively normal adults (Clinical Dementia Rating = 0) and whether antidepressants modified this relationship. Methods Among 301 participants, logistic regression models evaluated whether in vivo PET tau was associated with depression, while another model tested the interaction between PET tau and antidepressant use. A second set of models substituted PET amyloid for PET tau. A diagnosis of depression (yes/no) was made during an annual clinical assessment by a clinician. Antidepressant use (yes/no) was determined by comparing medications the participants used to a list of 30 commonly used antidepressants. All models adjusted for age, sex, education, race, and apolipoprotein ɛ4. Similar models explored the association between the biomarkers and depressive symptoms. Results Participants with elevated tau were twice as likely to be depressed. Antidepressant use modified this relationship where participants with elevated tau who were taking antidepressants had greater odds of being depressed. Relatedly, elevated amyloid was not associated with depression. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that tau, not amyloid, was associated with a depression diagnosis. Additionally, antidepressant use interacts with tau to increase the odds of depression among cognitively normal adults.
Key findings
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) studies suggest that both cerebrospinal fluid and positron emission tomography (PET) amyloid biomarkers are associated with more depressive symptoms in cognitively normal older adults.
- It is unclear if the tau biomarker is associated with depression diagnosis.
- Objective We examined if tau and amyloid imaging were associated with a depression diagnosis among cognitively normal adults (Clinical Dementia Rating = 0) and whether antidepressants modified this relationship.
- Methods Among 301 participants, logistic regression models evaluated whether in vivo PET tau was associated with depression, while another model tested the interaction between PET tau and antidepressant use.
- Results Participants with elevated tau were twice as likely to be depressed.
Study details
- Participants301
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 47/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 27 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 47 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| 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 | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 301 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 | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 32144985) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 27 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 27 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 47 out of 100. |
| Total | 47 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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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 names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Babulal, G. M., Roe, C. M., Stout, S. H., Rajasekar, G., Wisch, J. K., Benzinger, T. L. S., et al. (2020). Depression is Associated with Tau and Not Amyloid Positron Emission Tomography in Cognitively Normal Adults. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-191078
Vancouver
Babulal GM, Roe CM, Stout SH, Rajasekar G, Wisch JK, Benzinger TLS, et al. Depression is Associated with Tau and Not Amyloid Positron Emission Tomography in Cognitively Normal Adults. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2020. doi:10.3233/jad-191078. PMID: 32144985.
BibTeX
@article{babulal2020-32144985,
author = {Babulal, G. M. and Roe, C. M. and Stout, S. H. and Rajasekar, G. and Wisch, J. K. and Benzinger, T. L. S. and Morris, J. C. and Ances, B. M.},
title = {{Depression is Associated with Tau and Not Amyloid Positron Emission Tomography in Cognitively Normal Adults}},
journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.3233/jad-191078},
pmid = {32144985},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-191078}
}
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