Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42518151›Full record

ArticleEuropean geriatric medicine2026

Higher baseline CSF cortisol is associated with adverse 24-month tau-related, neuroimaging, and cognitive outcomes across the Alzheimer's disease continuum.

Nahlah Fahad Alreshidi, Abdulaziz Abdullah Alghamdi, Kholoud S Almasoudi, Iman M Mirza, Sahar Abduljawad, Soha S Zakaria, Saud S Alharbi, Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

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Article in European geriatric medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Nahlah Fahad AlreshidiDepartment of internal medicine, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia. n.alreshede@uoh.edu.sa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6501-7223
Abdulaziz Abdullah AlghamdiDepartment of medicine, College of medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh, Saudi Arabia.
Kholoud S AlmasoudiDepartment of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Tabuk, 71491, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8873-1104
Iman M MirzaFamily and Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0009-556X
Sahar AbduljawadDepartment of Health Administration and medical information, College of Al-leith Health Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-0670-8496
Soha S ZakariaDepartment of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-3418-2565
Saud S AlharbiDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7747-6291
Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Funding

Umm Al-Qura University 26UQU4350354GSSR02R
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeCortisol dysregulation has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but its associations with amyloid and tau-related outcomes remain unclear. This study examined whether baseline CSF cortisol was associated with cross-sectional and baseline-adjusted 24-month multimodal AD biomarkers and cognitive outcomes.

methodsA total of 764 participants were included, comprising cognitively normal (CN; n = 284), individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n = 356), and patients with AD dementia (n = 124). Associations between baseline CSF cortisol, multimodal AD biomarkers, and cognitive outcomes were assessed with FDR correction.

resultsCSF cortisol increased modestly from CN to MCI and AD dementia, with a small but statistically significant overall group difference after FDR correction. Cross-sectionally, in the MCI group, higher CSF cortisol was associated with higher CSF total tau and p-tau181 and a lower Aβ42/total tau ratio. In baseline-adjusted 24-month analyses, in MCI groups, higher CSF was associated with higher CSF total tau and p-tau181, greater temporal tau-PET burden, lower hippocampal volume, greater ventricular volume, and poorer cognitive outcomes. In the full cohort and MCI group, CSF-defined amyloid positivity strengthened associations of higher baseline CSF cortisol with adverse 24-month tau-related outcomes. Exploratory analyses suggested that 24-month CSF total tau and hippocampal volume partly accounted for the association between higher baseline CSF cortisol and poorer 24-month cognition in MCI; however, these findings do not establish causal mediation.

conclusionHigher CSF cortisol may be linked to tau-related pathology and poorer cognition, supporting further evaluation of its prognostic value across the AD continuum.

Indexed as

Alzheimer’s diseaseAmyloid-βBrain structureCognitive impairmentCortisolTau pathology

Identifiers

PMID42518151

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.