Associations of Alcohol Consumption with Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology in Cognitively Intact Older Adults: The CABLE Study

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Wang, Zuo-Teng^{a; 1} | Li, Kun-Yan^{b; 1} | Tan, Chen-Chen^c | Xu, Wei^c | Shen, Xue-Ning^d | Cao, Xi-Peng^e | Wang, Ping^b | Bi, Yan-Lin^f | Dong, Qiang^d | Tan, Lan^{a; c; *} | Yu, Jin-Tai^{d; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Neurology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, College of Medicine and Pharmaceutics, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China | [b] Department of Neurology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China | [c] Department of Neurology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China | [d] Department of Neurology and Institute of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China | [e] Clinical Research Center, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China | [f] Department of Anesthesiology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Jin-Tai Yu, MD, PhD, Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, No. 12 Wulumuqi Road, Shanghai, China. Tel.: +86 21 52888160; Fax: +86 21 62483421; E-mail: yu-jintai@163.com and Lan Tan, MD, PhD, Department of Neurology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Qingdao University, No.5 Donghai Middle Road, Qingdao, China. E-mail: dr.tanlan@163.com.

Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract: Background:The relationship between alcohol consumption and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology is unclear. Amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have been proven valuable in establishing prognosis in pre-clinical AD. Objective:We sought to examine the associations between alcohol consumption and CSF AD biomarkers in cognitive intact subjects. Methods:A total of 806 cognitively intact participants who had measurements of CSF Aβ, pTau, and total Tau proteins and drinking characteristics were included from the Chinese Alzheimer’s Biomarker and Lifestyle (CABLE) study. Linear and logistic regression analyses were utilized to explore the associations of alcohol consumption with CSF AD biomarkers. We examined the interaction effects of age, gender, and apolipoprotein epsilon (APOE) ɛ4 status on the relationships between the frequency of drinking and CSF biomarkers. Results:The multiple linear regression analyses revealed significant differences in CSF AD biomarkers between infrequent drinking (< 1 times/week) and frequent drinking groups (≥1 times/week). Participants in frequent drinking group had higher CSF p-tau/Aβ42 and tTau/Aβ42. Frequent drinking was significantly associated with greater pTau and tTau abnormalities compared to the infrequent drinking group in older (> 65 years) participants. Conclusion:The present study showed significant associations between drinking frequency and CSF AD biomarkers in cognitively intact older adults. Alcohol consumption may have an influence on AD by modulating amyloid deposition and tau phosphorylation in the preclinical stage.

Keywords: Alcohol consumption, Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid, cerebrospinal fluid, magnetic resonance imaging, tau proteins

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-210140

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 82, no. 3, pp. 1045-1054, 2021