Exploring the Potential Association Between Self-Reported Psychological Stress and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease in Midlife: A Cross-Sectional Study

Psychological stress is associated with dementia risk. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. This cross-sectional study examined the association between self-reported psychological stress and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegeneration in 73 cognitively unimpaired middle-aged adults from the Healthy Brain Project (mean age = 58±7 years). Linear regression analyses did not reveal any significant associations of psychological stress with CSF amyloid-β(42), phosphorylated tau-181, total tau, or neurofilament light chain. Cohen’s f(2) effect sizes were small in magnitude (f(2)≤0.08). Further research is needed to replicate our findings, particularly given that the sample reported on average low levels of stress.