Midlife Stress Hormone Tied to Alzheimer's in Women: Study Finds

New Delhi: A new study published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association has found that high levels of the stress hormone cortisol in midlife are linked to increased amyloid deposition in postmenopausal women, potentially raising their risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. The study emphasizes the importance of identifying early biomarkers and risk factors for Alzheimer’s before cognitive symptoms appear.

Using data from 305 cognitively unimpaired participants in the long-running Framingham Heart Study, the researchers examined serum cortisol levels in middle-aged individuals with a mean age of 39.6 years and followed their brain health over 15 years. By the end of the study period, they used PET imaging to assess amyloid and tau protein burdens—two key pathological indicators of Alzheimer’s disease. The analysis revealed that elevated cortisol levels were associated with increased amyloid buildup in the brains of postmenopausal women. However, no such association was found in men or with tau burden.

“The results highlight the importance of identifying early risk factors when biomarkers are detectable but cognitive impairment is absent,” said Arash Salardini, MD, associate professor of cognitive and behavioral neurology with the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio. He noted that hormonal changes after menopause may amplify the impact of cortisol on brain health, suggesting a gender-specific vulnerability.

The researchers found that cortisol, a hormone critical to the body’s stress response, may play a more pronounced role in Alzheimer’s disease development in women, particularly after menopause when the neuroprotective effects of estrogen decline. “Our work shows that considering sex and hormonal status in understanding Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis is important and suggests that stress reduction and hormonal interventions may hold promise for Alzheimer’s prevention, especially in at-risk women,” said senior author Dr. Sudha Seshadri, founding director of the Biggs Institute.

The team concluded that cortisol could serve as an early biomarker for Alzheimer’s in women, reinforcing the urgency of targeting risk factors during the disease’s preclinical phase.

Reference: Distinct systemic impacts of Aβ42 and Tau revealed by whole-organism snRNA-seq, Park, Ye-Jin et al., Neuron, Volume 0, Issue 0