Background This study examined the longitudinal relationship between cumulative socioeconomic status (SES) risk and serum neurofilament light chain (NfL) levels to better understand the association between social factors and a biomarker of neurodegeneration. Methods We used data from the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS), collecting psychosocial and blood data at two waves (2008) and (2019) from 254 Black Americans (43 males and 211 females). Blood samples were analyzed at each wave for serum NfL concentrations. Regression analysis and mixed-effect modeling examined relationships between cumulative SES risk and serum NfL, controlling for covariates and assessing time effects. Results Utilizing 11-year longitudinal data, serum NfL levels increased with age. Higher cumulative SES risk at baseline correlated with elevated serum NfL at the 11-year follow-up and predicted a greater increase in NfL levels. Clinically, NfL is a sensitive biomarker for axonal injury and neurodegeneration, commonly used to detect early and preclinical stages of conditions such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), multiple sclerosis, and other neurodegenerative disorders. Conclusions Our results suggest that exposure to cumulative SES risk among Black adults may contribute to elevated levels of NfL, indicating potential early neurodegeneration. Given the established role of NfL in detecting neurodegenerative processes, these findings underscore the importance of interventions that bolster social safety nets and social connectedness to enhance brain health and mitigate neurodegenerative risks.

中文翻译：

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累积社会经济地位风险与中年黑人成人血清神经丝轻链水平的更大增加相关


背景 本研究检查了累积社会经济地位 （SES） 风险与血清神经丝轻链 （NfL） 水平之间的纵向关系，以更好地了解社会因素与神经退行性变的生物标志物之间的关联。方法 我们使用了来自家庭和社区健康研究 （FACHS） 的数据，收集了 254 名美国黑人 （43 名男性和 211 名女性） 的两波 （2008） 和 （2019） 社会心理和血液数据。在每波分析血样的血清 NfL 浓度。回归分析和混合效应模型检查了累积 SES 风险与血清 NfL 之间的关系，控制协变量并评估时间效应。结果 利用 11 年纵向数据，血清 NfL 水平随着年龄的增长而增加。基线时较高的累积 SES 风险与 11 年随访时血清 NfL 升高相关，并预测 NfL 水平增加更大。在临床上，NfL 是轴突损伤和神经退行性变的敏感生物标志物，通常用于检测阿尔茨海默病 （AD）、多发性硬化症和其他神经退行性疾病等疾病的早期和临床前阶段。结论 我们的结果表明，黑人成年人暴露于累积的 SES 风险可能导致 NfL 水平升高，表明潜在的早期神经退化。鉴于 NfL 在检测神经退行性过程方面的既定作用，这些发现强调了加强社会安全网和社会联系的干预措施对增强大脑健康和减轻神经退行性风险的重要性。