Comparison of genetic and health risk factors for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white participants

INTRODUCTIONThe influence of apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype on mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) is well studied in the non-Hispanic white (NHW) population but not in the Hispanic population. Additionally, health risk factors such as hypertension, stroke, and depression may also differ between the two populations. METHODSWe combined three data sets (National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center [NACC], Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative [ADNI], Health and Aging Brain Study: Health Disparities [HABS-HD]) and compared risk factors for MCI and AD between Hispanic and NHW participants, with a total of 24,268 participants (11.1% Hispanic). RESULTSAPOE epsilon 4 was associated with fewer all-cause MCI cases in Hispanic participants (Hispanic odds ratio [OR]: 1.114; NHW OR: 1.453), and APOE epsilon 2 (Hispanic OR: 1.224; NHW OR: 0.592) and depression (Hispanic OR: 2.817; NHW OR: 1.847) were associated with more AD cases in Hispanic participants. DISCUSSIONAPOE epsilon 2 may not be protective for AD in Hispanic participants and Hispanic participants with depression may face a higher risk for AD. HighlightsGAAIN allows for discovery of data sets to use in secondary analyses.APOE epsilon 2 was not protective for AD in Hispanic participants.APOE epsilon 4 was associated with fewer MCI cases in Hispanic participants.Depression was associated with more AD cases in Hispanic participants.