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Sex Differences in the Associations between Education, Neuropathology, and Cognition
Raeesi, S.; Zeighami, Y.; Morrison, C.; Dadar, M.. medRxiv (preprint), 2026-09-08
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
In female participants, higher education was associated with lower Thal amyloid phase, diffuse plaques, neuritic plaques, and Braak stage ({beta} range, -0.097 to -0.071; qFDR<.026); none was significant among male participants. The education-by-Braak-stage-by-sex interaction indicated that higher education was associated with a weaker Braak stage-CDR-SB association among females than males ({beta}, -0.104; 95% CI, -0.171 to -0.038; qFDR=.022). The corresponding interaction with sex was also significant (P=.043). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEAmong female participants, higher education was associated with lower selected Alzheimers disease neuropathologic measures and weaker associations of tau pathology with cognition. FindingsIn this cohort study of 2592 autopsy participants, higher education was associated with lower Alzheimers disease neuropathologic burden among female but not male participants, and education-by-sex interactions were significant for Thal amyloid phase, diffuse and neuritic plaques. Higher education was associated with a weaker Braak stage-CDR-SB association among female than male participants and with lower CDR-SB five years before death in both sexes.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Raeesi, S., Zeighami, Y., Morrison, C., & Dadar, M. (2026). Sex Differences in the Associations between Education, Neuropathology, and Cognition. medRxiv (preprint). https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.03.26362216
Vancouver
Raeesi S, Zeighami Y, Morrison C, Dadar M. Sex Differences in the Associations between Education, Neuropathology, and Cognition. medRxiv (preprint). 2026. doi:10.64898/2026.09.03.26362216.
BibTeX
@article{raeesi2026-8c2d4509,
author = {Raeesi, S. and Zeighami, Y. and Morrison, C. and Dadar, M.},
title = {{Sex Differences in the Associations between Education, Neuropathology, and Cognition}},
journal = {medRxiv (preprint)},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.03.26362216},
url = {https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.03.26362216}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- In female participants, higher education was associated with lower Thal amyloid phase, diffuse plaques, neuritic plaques, and Braak stage ({beta} range, -0.097 to -0.071; qFDR<.026); none was significant among male participants.
- The education-by-Braak-stage-by-sex interaction indicated that higher education was associated with a weaker Braak stage-CDR-SB association among females than males ({beta}, -0.104; 95% CI, -0.171 to -0.038; qFDR=.022).
- The corresponding interaction with sex was also significant (P=.043).
- CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEAmong female participants, higher education was associated with lower selected Alzheimers disease neuropathologic measures and weaker associations of tau pathology with cognition.
- FindingsIn this cohort study of 2592 autopsy participants, higher education was associated with lower Alzheimers disease neuropathologic burden among female but not male participants, and education-by-sex interactions were significant for Thal amyloid phase, diffuse and neuritic plaques.
Why it matters
In this autopsy study, higher education was linked to lower Alzheimer's disease neuropathology in women but not men, and to a weaker link between tau pathology and cognition in women. This suggests education may relate differently to Alzheimer's brain changes and thinking in women and men, but it does not show that education prevents or cures the disease.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Alzheimer's in numbers →
Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants2,592
- Effect size45.8%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 39 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 impact for its field and year, so that was left out: it earned 37 of the 94 points we could judge it on, which is 39 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (medRxiv (preprint)) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following 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 | 3 / 4 | 2,592 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| 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 | 1 / 7 | Cited 1 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.5 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026 |
| 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 | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 1 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Mahsa Dadar: h-index 40 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | McGill University: institution h-index 1,373 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Points | 37 / 94 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 37 of the 94 points we could judge it on is 39 out of 100. |
| Total | 39 / 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 →
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