Design and feasibility of an Alzheimer’s disease blood test study in a diverse community-based population

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer's disease (AD) blood tests are likely to become increasingly important in clinical practice, but need to be evaluated in diverse groups before use in the general population. METHODS: This study enrolled a community-based sample of older adults in the Saint Louis, Missouri, USA area. Participants completed a blood draw, AD8® dementia screening interview, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and survey about their perceptions of the blood test. A subset of participants completed additional blood collection, amyloid PET, MRI, and Clinical Dementia Rating® (CDR). RESULTS: Of the 859 participants enrolled in this ongoing study, 20.6% self-identified as Black or African American. The AD8 and MoCA correlated moderately with the CDR. The blood test was well-accepted by the cohort, but perceived more positively by White and highly educated individuals. DISCUSSION: Studying an AD blood test in a diverse population is feasible, and may accelerate accurate diagnosis and implementation of effective treatments.

Caregivers’ attitudes toward blood‐based biomarker testing for Alzheimer's disease

“…While earlier studies have focused on views of patients and caregivers regarding the disclosure of PET imaging results, mostly in research settings, 18,24 and interest in medical (screening) tests for early AD diagnosis without a likely availability of such tests in the near future, 25,26 attitudes toward novel BBBM for AD have only scarcely been assessed. 19 For a smooth implementation, it is relevant to understand the perception of these novel tests by relevant stakeholders.…”

“…For a smooth implementation, it is relevant to understand the perception of these novel tests by relevant stakeholders. Previously, the perception of BBBM testing for AD was analyzed in Americans in a population‐based cohort, 19 in which no previous experience with AD or the diagnostic process thereof was necessary for participation. In contrast, we included Dutch informal caregivers, with lived experiences with the disease and the current diagnostic work‐up for AD/dementia.…”

“…Second, inclusion of a specific Dutch population and the nature of the selected study population with lived experiences with AD and dementia could limit the generalizability of our findings. It has been shown that willingness to undergo BBBM testing for AD varies between different population groups 19 and other factors (e.g., diagnostic process, availability of care services, perceived stigma) can vary among countries, illustrating the need for replication in different (international) study populations.…”

“…These studies have shown that individuals are often interested in knowing their risk, value getting information about disease etiology, and that disclosure of such information is safe in terms of short-term psychological impact. [15][16][17][18] However, scarcely any data are available on stakeholder perspectives regarding BBBM testing for AD [19][20][21][22] and recent advancements in AD-drug developments also raise the question how the public perspective is influenced by the availability of disease-modifying treatment.…”

“…However, scarcely any data are available on stakeholder perspectives regarding BBBM testing for AD 19–22 and recent advancements in AD‐drug developments also raise the question how the public perspective is influenced by the availability of disease‐modifying treatment. In this study, we aimed to explore the perspectives of informal caregivers toward BBBM testing in the context of the diagnostic work‐up for AD and for the purpose of screening among the general public in the distant future.…”