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Kidney Function and Blood and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Lin Y, Zhao Z, Zhu N, Garcia Ptacek S, Carrero JJ, Bruchfeld A, Eriksdotter M, Mielke MM et al.. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN, 2026-01-26
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Key points Lower kidney function is associated with higher concentrations of blood biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. Background Studies have shown that low kidney function may link to elevated Alzheimer's disease and related dementia fluid biomarkers, but the results are not consistent. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate whether kidney function was associated with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia biomarkers (amyloid- β , tau, neurofilament light [NfL] protein, and glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP]) in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Results Of the 3024 studies screened, 93 met the inclusion criteria, encompassing 62,503 participants (mean age, 20-96 years; 54% female) from 21 countries. In meta-analysis of unadjusted correlation coefficients, kidney function (primarily eGFR) was inversely associated with concentrations of blood NfL, GFAP, Aβ40, β-amyloid 1-40 (A β 40), β-amyloid 1-42, and phosphorylated tau (p-tau181). In meta-analysis of adjusted regression coefficients, eGFR remained inversely associated with blood biomarker levels. Specifically, every 1 ml/min per 1.73 m 2 lower eGFR was associated with 0.19 pg/ml higher NfL (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.12 to 0.25), 0.11 pg/ml higher GFAP (95% CI, 0.04 to 0.18), and 0.29 pg/ml higher A β 40 (95% CI, 0.01 to 0.56). Conclusions Low kidney function was associated with elevated blood biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (NfL, GFAP, and A β 40), whereas associations with CSF biomarkers were inconsistent and generally null.
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APA 7th
Lin, Y., Zhao, Z., Zhu, N., Garcia Ptacek, S., Carrero, J. J., Bruchfeld, A., et al. (2026). Kidney Function and Blood and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN. https://doi.org/10.1681/asn.0000001007
Vancouver
Lin Y, Zhao Z, Zhu N, Garcia Ptacek S, Carrero JJ, Bruchfeld A, et al. Kidney Function and Blood and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN. 2026. doi:10.1681/asn.0000001007. PMID: 41587095.
BibTeX
@article{lin2026-41587095,
author = {Lin, Y. and Zhao, Z. and Zhu, N. and Garcia Ptacek, S. and Carrero, J. J. and Bruchfeld, A. and Eriksdotter, M. and Mielke, M. M. and others},
title = {{Kidney Function and Blood and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis}},
journal = {Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1681/asn.0000001007},
pmid = {41587095},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1681/asn.0000001007}
}
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Key findings
- Key points Lower kidney function is associated with higher concentrations of blood biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease and related dementia.
- Background Studies have shown that low kidney function may link to elevated Alzheimer's disease and related dementia fluid biomarkers, but the results are not consistent.
- This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate whether kidney function was associated with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia biomarkers (amyloid- β , tau, neurofilament light [NfL] protein, and glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP]) in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
- Results Of the 3024 studies screened, 93 met the inclusion criteria, encompassing 62,503 participants (mean age, 20-96 years; 54% female) from 21 countries.
- In meta-analysis of unadjusted correlation coefficients, kidney function (primarily eGFR) was inversely associated with concentrations of blood NfL, GFAP, Aβ40, β-amyloid 1-40 (A β 40), β-amyloid 1-42, and phosphorylated tau (p-tau181).
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Study details
- Study designsystematic review
- Participants62,503
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 86/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a systematic review of all the studies on the question. Scored zero for effect reported 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 50 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 86 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A systematic review of all the studies on the question |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 4 / 4 | 62,503 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 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| 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 41587095) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 50 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 50 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 86 out of 100. |
| Total | 86 / 100 | — |
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