Common Alzheimer’s genetic risk was not linked to SuperAging
An observational comparison of 231 adults aged 80 or older found no link between common Alzheimer’s genetic risk measures and exceptional memory.
Genetic association study, multicenter
Limit: Excluding adults with cognitive impairment could obscure associations with Alzheimer’s genetic risk
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
An observational study compared 142 SuperAgers aged 80 or older with 89 adults of the same age range whose memory was average for their age. SuperAgers recalled words at least as well as the average adult aged 56 to 64. Neither group had clinical cognitive impairment.
Researchers compared versions of APOE, a gene associated with Alzheimer’s risk, and three scores combining common genetic differences associated with the disease. They adjusted their analyses for age, sex and education. Neither APOE versions nor any score was associated with SuperAger status. Accounting for genetic ancestry did not change the results. The findings suggested that the common inherited Alzheimer’s risk captured by these measures did not explain exceptional late-life memory.
Why it matters
Exceptional late-life memory offers a way to investigate factors supporting cognitive aging. The authors called for deeper investigation of rare genetic differences and life experiences.
Caveats
This observational comparison does not establish that genetics has no role in exceptional memory. Participants were English-speaking adults aged 80 or older without clinical cognitive impairment, neurological disorders known to affect cognition or significant uncontrolled medical conditions.
The paper
SuperAging is not the inverse of common-variant Alzheimer's risk: evidence across genetic ancestries
Translational Genomics Research Institute; University of Chicago
Alzheimer's Research & Therapy, Jul 23, 2026, Open access
