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Plasma p-tau217 and cognitive impairment: Evaluating biomarker equity across racial/ethnic groups in HABS-HD
Hayes CA, Najmi Z, Contreras JA, Dharmapuri A, Winston CN, *The Health and Aging Brain Study (HABS‐HD) Study Team.. Alzheimer's & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 2026-01-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Introduction Plasma phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) is a leading blood-based biomarker of Alzheimer's disease. Its performance in underrepresented racial/ethnic groups remains insufficiently characterized. Methods We analyzed 2798 participants from the Health and Aging Brain Study-Health Disparities, including non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic adults. Multivariable logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analyses assessed associations and discriminative accuracy between plasma p-tau217 and clinical cognitive impairment with racial/ethnic-specific thresholds. Results Across all groups, p-tau217 levels were higher in cognitively impaired than unimpaired participants. Elevated p-tau217 was associated with greater odds of cognitive impairment in all racial and ethnic groups. Discriminative accuracy was modest but significant (area under the curve 0.65-0.72), with highest performance in non-Hispanic Black and lowest in Hispanic participants. Discussion Plasma p-tau217 is robustly associated with cognitive impairment across diverse populations with varying thresholds, highlighting the need for population-specific calibration to support equitable biomarker implementation.
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APA 7th
Hayes, C. A., Najmi, Z., Contreras, J. A., Dharmapuri, A., & Winston, C. N. (2026). Plasma p-tau217 and cognitive impairment: Evaluating biomarker equity across racial/ethnic groups in HABS-HD. Alzheimer's & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands). https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.70269
Vancouver
Hayes CA, Najmi Z, Contreras JA, Dharmapuri A, Winston CN. Plasma p-tau217 and cognitive impairment: Evaluating biomarker equity across racial/ethnic groups in HABS-HD. Alzheimer's & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands). 2026. doi:10.1002/dad2.70269. PMID: 41767155.
BibTeX
@article{hayes2026-41767155,
author = {Hayes, C. A. and Najmi, Z. and Contreras, J. A. and Dharmapuri, A. and Winston, C. N.},
title = {{Plasma p-tau217 and cognitive impairment: Evaluating biomarker equity across racial/ethnic groups in HABS-HD}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands)},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.1002/dad2.70269},
pmid = {41767155},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.70269}
}
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Key findings
- Results Across all groups, p-tau217 levels were higher in cognitively impaired than unimpaired participants.
- Elevated p-tau217 was associated with greater odds of cognitive impairment in all racial and ethnic groups.
- Discriminative accuracy was modest but significant (area under the curve 0.65-0.72), with highest performance in non-Hispanic Black and lowest in Hispanic participants.
- Discussion Plasma p-tau217 is robustly associated with cognitive impairment across diverse populations with varying thresholds, highlighting the need for population-specific calibration to support equitable biomarker implementation.
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Study details
- Participants2,798
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 60/100
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 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 35 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 60 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands)) |
| 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 | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 2,798 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 41767155) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 35 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 35 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 60 out of 100. |
| Total | 60 / 100 | — |
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