# Using Genetic and Blood Metabolites to Understand the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease in Latinos

> **NIH NIH R21** · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · 2021 · $455,628

## Abstract

U.S. Latinos are highly diverse, with individuals originating from central and south America, as well as the
Caribbean. Latinos are socioeconomically disadvantaged compared to U.S. Whites, and suffer from a higher
prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia. Genetic determinants of Alzheimer’s disease may be
somewhat different in Latinos compared to Whites: in preliminary results, we found that genetic background,
in the form of proportion of genome inherited from Amerindian (Native American) ancestors mitigates the
detrimental effect of the APOE-𝜖𝜖4 variants on cognitive decline in individuals from the Hispanic Community
Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). This suggests heterogeneity in genetically-based mechanisms
underlying neurocognitive decline in Latinos.
Untargeted metabolomics is a promising approach to develop potential biomarkers for human disease. Previous
metabolomics studies identified potential biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease and for cognitive traits in a cross-
sectional manner, however, very little work was done specifically in Latinos, and the genetics and metabolomics
have not been integrated for risk prediction, apart from using APOE-𝜖𝜖4. Here, we propose to utilize a dataset
including ~1,500 older Latino adults from the HCHS/SOL with untargeted metabolomics measured at a baseline
visit, and neurocognitive function estimated in both the baseline and a follow-up visit. Our goals are: (1) develop
preliminary biomarkers for aging-related cognitive decline phenotypes (e.g. change in global cognitive function,
mild cognitive impairment); (2) study the genetic basis of the association of metabolites with cognitive decline,
and study potential heterogeneity by genetic background; and (3) form recommendations and a grant
application to support a larger research program utilizing genetics and metabolomics, and potentially other
‘omics, to develop biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease in diverse populations, and study underlying mechanisms.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10299916
- **Project number:** 1R21AG070644-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Tamar Sofer
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $455,628
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-30 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10299916

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10299916, Using Genetic and Blood Metabolites to Understand the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease in Latinos (1R21AG070644-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10299916. Licensed CC0.

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