Neuropsychiatric symptom clusters and plasma proteomic signatures across cognitive ageing and dementia in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a cross-sectional analysis of the EVCD-RDC cohort
Ikanga JN, Patel SS, Zhang P, Yang J, Crosby M, Obenauf C, Gikelekele G, Epenge E et al.. medRxiv, 2026-10-28
Topic: Genetics and APOE
The full cohort included 1044 participants, of whom 779 comprised the proteomics cohort. Higher NEFL was associated with greater NPI symptom burden (Beta=0.349, 95% CI 0.201 to 0.497; FDR<0.001; N=674). Higher IL6 (Beta=0.805, 0.362 to 1.248) and CCL13 (Beta=0.434, 0.191 to 0.678) were associated with higher GDS scores (both FDR=0.032; N=693). Higher APOE protein was associated with nighttime behaviour (OR 2.11, 95% CI 1.42 to 3.11; FDR=0.025). Three NPS dimensions were identified. NEFL was the only factor level association surviving FDR correction (behavioural/motor: Beta=0.222, 95% CI 0.127 to 0.318; FDR<0.001; N=644). NPS showed heterogeneous plasma protein correlates, with the most robust findings implicating neuroaxonal injury and inflammatory signalling. Longitudinal replication in African cohorts is needed.
Key findings
- The full cohort included 1044 participants, of whom 779 comprised the proteomics cohort.
- Higher NEFL was associated with greater NPI symptom burden (Beta=0.349, 95% CI 0.201 to 0.497; FDR<0.001; N=674).
- Higher IL6 (Beta=0.805, 0.362 to 1.248) and CCL13 (Beta=0.434, 0.191 to 0.678) were associated with higher GDS scores (both FDR=0.032; N=693).
- Higher APOE protein was associated with nighttime behaviour (OR 2.11, 95% CI 1.42 to 3.11; FDR=0.025).
- NEFL was the only factor level association surviving FDR correction (behavioural/motor: Beta=0.222, 95% CI 0.127 to 0.318; FDR<0.001; N=644).
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Genetics →
Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants674
- Effect sizeOR 2.11
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 48 on the same rubric, but non-peer-reviewed sources are capped at 16, so it shows as 16. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on 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 30 of the 62 points we could judge it on, which is 48 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (medRxiv) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 674 participants |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| 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 | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 30 / 62 | Scored on 12 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 30 of the 62 points we could judge it on is 48 out of 100. |
| Total | 48 / 100 | Capped to 16 because this is not a peer-reviewed article. |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Free copy unknown: no free-copy check has an answer for this record yet. That does not mean it is paywalled.
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
Ikanga, J. N., Patel, S. S., Zhang, P., Yang, J., Crosby, M., Obenauf, C., et al. (2026). Neuropsychiatric symptom clusters and plasma proteomic signatures across cognitive ageing and dementia in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a cross-sectional analysis of the EVCD-RDC cohort. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.26.26366531
Vancouver
Ikanga JN, Patel SS, Zhang P, Yang J, Crosby M, Obenauf C, et al. Neuropsychiatric symptom clusters and plasma proteomic signatures across cognitive ageing and dementia in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a cross-sectional analysis of the EVCD-RDC cohort. medRxiv. 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.10.26.26366531.
BibTeX
@article{ikanga2026-1a1aec27,
author = {Ikanga, J. N. and Patel, S. S. and Zhang, P. and Yang, J. and Crosby, M. and Obenauf, C. and Gikelekele, G. and Epenge, E. and others},
title = {{Neuropsychiatric symptom clusters and plasma proteomic signatures across cognitive ageing and dementia in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a cross-sectional analysis of the EVCD-RDC cohort}},
journal = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.26.26366531},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.10.26.26366531}
}
Related studies in Genetics
Also tagged “blood-based”
698 studies in the library carry the topic tag “blood-based”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 698 tagged studies.