Scientists have pointed to the link between kidney health and Alzheimer's disease

People with impaired kidney function have higher levels of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in their blood. At the same time, the study does not prove an increase in their level with poor kidney function — it only shows the presence of a link. This was reported on December 3 by Medical Xpress magazine.

"Although we did not find that decreased kidney function increases the risk of dementia, we found that impaired kidney function can accelerate the onset of dementia in people with higher levels of biomarkers. This highlights the need for doctors to take kidney function into account when interpreting the results of determining Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in the blood," said study author Francesca Gasparini, MD, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

The study involved 2,279 people without dementia, with an average age of 72 years. They underwent medical examinations and cognitive function tests, as well as blood tests to determine kidney function and levels of biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (tau proteins, beta-amyloid, neurofilament light chains and glial fibrillar acid proteins).

The researchers divided the participants into two groups: 1,722 people with healthy kidneys and 577 people with impaired kidney function. They were followed for an average of eight years, during which 221 people from the first team developed dementia, and 141 from the second team.

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The researchers found that decreased kidney function is associated with higher levels of most of the studied biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease. After excluding participants who developed dementia during the study, the results did not change. After taking into account factors such as age, gender, and the genetic biomarker APOEe4, indicating a high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, it turned out that poor kidney function was not associated with an increased risk of dementia compared with good.

However, the scientists noted that people with impaired kidney function and elevated levels of neurofilament light chains had an almost twice the increased risk of dementia compared to those with kidney function and high levels of this biomarker were preserved. According to Gasparini, this may indicate the effect of kidney health on the timing of dementia, but not on the likelihood of its development in people with high biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease.

"When studying these biomarkers in the elderly, monitoring kidney health may be more important than it might seem. Monitoring kidney health can help doctors better interpret these biomarkers and identify those who may be at risk for faster disease progression," she explained.

This study allegedly highlights the importance of tracking kidney health, especially when interpreting biomarkers. According to the publication, this will help to better predict the development of dementia.

On November 9, Medical Xpress spoke about the ability of physical activity to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The researchers emphasized that even moderate physical activity, including walking, can contribute to this. According to the publication, even 3 thousand steps (about half an hour of walking) turned out to be effective, but the best results were observed with 5-7.5 thousand steps.

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