Blood markers modestly predicted dementia in older adults
Over a median 12.2 years, the markers identified 41.7%–59.5% of people who received a dementia diagnosis.
Limit: Reliance on medical records can miss undiagnosed dementia cases
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
A retrospective observational study analyzed 5,225 community-dwelling older adults in the UK Whitehall II cohort, originally established among civil servants. Their mean age was 69.4 years, and 27.2% were women. Researchers tested stored blood samples in 2024 and tracked dementia through linked medical records. Over a median 12.2 years, 516 participants received a dementia diagnosis.
The researchers assessed four blood markers. For each, participants in the least favorable quarter of values had higher dementia risk. But the markers’ ability to identify future dementia cases was modest. Together, they predicted dementia about as accurately as a model using demographic, behavioral and health-related risk factors. Adding the markers to that model improved prediction.
Why it matters
For dementia, an age-related disease, the study addressed whether blood tests add useful long-term risk information beyond known risk factors.
Caveats
This observational study assessed prediction using recorded dementia diagnoses, not whether blood testing improved care. The cohort began among UK civil servants and may not represent all older adults.
