Higher amyloid correlates to greater loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Little is known about psychosocial characteristics, including loneliness, anxiety, and depression, present in preclinical Alzheimer disease (AD). The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship between these psychosocial characteristics and amyloid accumulation in cognitively normal older adults with and without preclinical AD during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A global Clinical Dementia Rating® Scale score of 0 was required for enrollment. Cortical amyloid burden was measured using [11C] Pittsburgh compound B or [18F]-Florbetapir PET tracers. Centiloids were used to synchronize measures. Demographic characteristics and measures of loneliness, anxiety, and depression were collected via self-report. Spearman’s correlation was used to examine relationships between amyloid and psychosocial characteristics. Results: The 108 participants had a mean age of 75.0 and an average amyloid burden of 22.2. Higher amyloid accumulation was significantly associated with greater loneliness. Conclusions: Additional research is needed with a larger, more diverse sample to examine these psychosocial characteristics in preclinical AD.