Summary: A recent study finds that telling cognitively healthy adults about their brain amyloid beta status — a biomarker linked to Alzheimer’s disease risk — does not increase depression or anxiety. However, the study also shows that motivation to maintain recommended lifestyle changes for brain health tends to decline over time, regardless of whether participants had elevated amyloid. People who learned they did not have amyloid buildup reported reduced anxiety, depression, and memory concerns, while those who learned they did have amyloid experienced a modest decrease in anxiety but no increase in depression. Both groups reported lower motivation to continue lifestyle improvements six months after disclosure.
These findings point to a need for effective, long-term strategies to sustain behavior changes that support cognitive health, particularly as preventive therapies for Alzheimer’s disease become more available.
Key findings
- No emotional harm from disclosure: Receiving information about amyloid beta status was not associated with increased depression or anxiety in cognitively normal adults.
- Emotional benefit when amyloid is absent: Participants who learned they had non-elevated amyloid reported significant reductions in depression, anxiety, and subjective memory complaints.
- Motivation drops over time: Both those with elevated and non-elevated amyloid reported decreased motivation to sustain lifestyle changes six months after disclosure.
- Implications for prevention: Sustaining risk-reduction behaviors after biomarker disclosure will be crucial as screening and preventive treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease expand.
Source: Rutgers
The study, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, was led by researchers at the Joseph Sagol Neuroscience Center and included contribution from the Rutgers Brain Health Institute. Authors include Sapir Golan Shekhtman, Orit Lesman-Segev, and Michal Schnaider Beeri. The research tracked emotional and behavioral responses to amyloid PET scan results among cognitively normal adults who were at increased risk for dementia.
Amyloid beta (Aβ) accumulation in the brain is a key early pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. Amyloid plaques can be detected by positron emission tomography (PET) scans years before clinical symptoms arise. Understanding how people respond when told their amyloid status can inform disclosure practices and support programs that encourage sustained risk-reduction behaviors.
The study enrolled 199 cognitively normal adults who completed questionnaires measuring anxiety, depression, subjective memory complaints, and motivation for lifestyle change before undergoing amyloid PET scans. The same measures were repeated six months after participants were informed of their amyloid results.
Results showed that participants who were told their amyloid level was non-elevated experienced significant improvements in emotional measures: lower depression scores, reduced anxiety, and fewer memory-related worries compared with baseline. Despite this emotional improvement, these participants reported a drop in motivation to continue lifestyle adjustments intended to reduce dementia risk.
Participants who were informed they had elevated amyloid did not report increased depression or memory complaints. They did report a modest reduction in anxiety and, similar to the non-elevated group, a decline in motivation to maintain recommended lifestyle changes.
“Disclosure of amyloid status did not produce harmful psychological effects in this sample,” said Michal Schnaider Beeri. “In some cases, simply knowing the result led to reduced negative feelings.”
The investigators emphasized that responses to biomarker disclosure vary among individuals, supporting the need for personalized disclosure protocols and follow-up. They highlighted the practical challenge revealed by the study: people commonly lose momentum for lifestyle changes over time, even when those changes are intended to protect cognitive health.
“Our findings underline how easily motivation for brain-healthy behaviors can fade,” said Sapir Golan Shekhtman. “Developing strategies to maintain these behaviors over the long term is essential, especially as the field moves toward preventive Alzheimer’s treatments.”
Orit Lesman-Segev added that as screening for Alzheimer’s biomarkers becomes part of evaluating eligibility for preventive therapies, it will be increasingly important to understand how disclosure affects both emotional well-being and long-term engagement in risk-reduction activities.
About this Alzheimer’s disease research news
Author: Tongyue Zhang
Source: Rutgers
Contact: Tongyue Zhang – Rutgers
Image credit: Neuroscience News
Original research: “Emotional response to amyloid beta status disclosure among research participants at high dementia risk” by Sapir Golan Shekhtman et al., Alzheimer’s & Dementia (open access).
Abstract
Emotional response to amyloid beta status disclosure among research participants at high dementia risk
Introduction
Amyloid beta (Aβ) can be detected in vivo years before Alzheimer’s disease symptom onset and, according to current criteria, is sufficient for a biological diagnosis. This study examines emotional responses to disclosure of Aβ status in cognitively normal individuals at elevated dementia risk.
Methods
Participants completed questionnaires before and six months after disclosure of Aβ PET results to assess anxiety, depression, subjective memory complaints, and motivation for risk-reduction behaviors. The design measured both immediate and short-term emotional and behavioral responses to disclosure.
Results
A total of 199 cognitively normal adults were included. Disclosure of non-elevated Aβ status was associated with significant reductions in depression, anxiety, and memory complaints compared to baseline (p < 0.001). Disclosure of elevated Aβ status was not associated with increases in depression or memory complaints and showed a modest decrease in anxiety and in motivation for lifestyle change (p < 0.048).
Discussion
No adverse psychological effects were observed following disclosure of Aβ status in this cohort. However, decreased motivation to implement or sustain lifestyle changes was observed after disclosure regardless of Aβ level, a result that highlights the need for targeted interventions to support long-term behavior change in efforts to maintain cognitive health.