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Large-scale plasma proteomic analysis identifies proteins and pathways associated with dementia risk
Walker KA, Chen J, Zhang J, Fornage M, Yang Y, Zhou L, Grams ME, Tin A et al.. Nature aging, 2021-05-14
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
The plasma proteomic changes that precede the onset of dementia could yield insights into disease biology and highlight new biomarkers and avenues for intervention. We quantified 4,877 plasma proteins in nondemented older adults in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort and performed a proteome-wide association study of dementia risk over five years (n = 4,110; 428 incident cases). Thirty-eight proteins were associated with incident dementia after Bonferroni correction.
Key findings
- We quantified 4,877 plasma proteins in nondemented older adults in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities cohort and performed a proteome-wide association study of dementia risk over five years (n = 4,110; 428 incident cases).
- Thirty-eight proteins were associated with incident dementia after Bonferroni correction.
- Of these, 16 were also associated with late-life dementia risk when measured in plasma collected nearly 20 years earlier, during mid-life.
- Two-sample Mendelian randomization causally implicated two dementia-associated proteins (SVEP1 and angiostatin) in Alzheimer's disease.
Why it matters
This large plasma proteomic study identified 38 proteins associated with incident dementia over five years, 16 of which were also associated with late-life dementia risk when measured nearly 20 years earlier. It identifies possible biomarkers and pathways but does not establish a treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Participants4,110
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 63/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Nature aging) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Nature Aging: journal h-index 103 (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 | 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 | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 4,110 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 | 5 / 7 | Cited 216 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 30.9 citations a year over 7 year(s) since 2021 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 17.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 14 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 164 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Josef Coresh: h-index 193 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | National Institutes of Health: institution h-index 2,723 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 11 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 37118015) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 63 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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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'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
Walker, K. A., Chen, J., Zhang, J., Fornage, M., Yang, Y., Zhou, L., et al. (2021). Large-scale plasma proteomic analysis identifies proteins and pathways associated with dementia risk. Nature aging. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-021-00064-0
Vancouver
Walker KA, Chen J, Zhang J, Fornage M, Yang Y, Zhou L, et al. Large-scale plasma proteomic analysis identifies proteins and pathways associated with dementia risk. Nature aging. 2021. doi:10.1038/s43587-021-00064-0. PMID: 37118015.
BibTeX
@article{walker2021-37118015,
author = {Walker, K. A. and Chen, J. and Zhang, J. and Fornage, M. and Yang, Y. and Zhou, L. and Grams, M. E. and Tin, A. and others},
title = {{Large-scale plasma proteomic analysis identifies proteins and pathways associated with dementia risk}},
journal = {Nature aging},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1038/s43587-021-00064-0},
pmid = {37118015},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-021-00064-0}
}
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