Sex differences in the association between repetitive negative thinking and neurofilament light
Emerging evidence suggests that repetitive negative thinking (RNT; i.e., worry and ruminative brooding) is associated with biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease. Given that women have a greater risk of many neurodegenerative diseases, this study investigated whether worry and brooding are associated with general neurodegeneration and whether associations differ by sex. Exploratory analyses examined whether allostatic load, a marker of chronic stress, mediates any observed relationships. Baseline data from 134 cognitively healthy older adults in the Age-Well clinical trial were utilised. Worry and brooding were assessed using questionnaires. Plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL), a biomarker of neurodegeneration, was quantified using a Meso Scale Discovery assay. We found a positive interaction between brooding and sex on NfL, with higher brooding associated with greater NfL levels in women. No associations were observed between worry/ruminative brooding and allostatic load. These results offer preliminary support that RNT is associated with worse brain health, specifically in women.
Authors
- Antoine Lutz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0258-3233)
- Rhonda Smith
- Éric Frison (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5844-1886)
- Gaël Chételat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4889-7932)
- Marco Schlosser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0634-0749)
- Eglantine Ferrand Devouge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2398-2233)
- Vincent de La Sayette (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0663-092X)
- Éric Salmon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2520-9241)
- Natalie L. Marchant (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0669-6910)
- Géraldine Poisnel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7943-1281)
- Marion Delarue (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8934-8649)
- Olga Klimecki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0757-7761)
- Yolanda Lau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2896-6127)
- Hélène Espérou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1654-4868)
- Elizabeth Kuhn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3744-1155)
- Anne Quillard
- Tim Whitfield (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0305-646X)
- Edelweiss Touron (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7906-934X)
- Miranka Wirth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0725-7314)
- P A Kaliman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4299-4316)
- Fabienne Collette (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9288-9756)
- Harriet Demnitz‐King (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7421-7101)
- Valentin Ourry (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8535-9009)
- Frank Jessen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1067-2102)
- Delphine Smagghe
- Valérie Lefranc
- Anne Chocat
- Julie Gonneaud (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0566-5581)
- Cassandre Palix (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8736-5261)
- Cédric Wallet
- Amit Bansal
Institutions
- University of Geneva (CH)
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Inserm (FR)
- University of Liège (BE)
- École Pratique des Hautes Études (FR)
- University of Cologne (DE)
- Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR)
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DE)
- Faculty (United Kingdom) (GB)
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (FR)
- Normandie Université (FR)
- Inserm Transfert (FR)
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Caen Normandie (FR)
- Minerva Laboratories (United Kingdom) (GB)
- Institut Bergonié (FR)
- Cyceron (FR)
- Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine
- Centre d'Investigation Clinique Plurithématique de Bordeaux
- University College London (GB)
- Université de Rouen Normandie (FR)
- Friedrich Schiller University Jena (DE)
- Université de Caen Normandie (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Mental Health Research
- Published
- 2024-11-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44184-024-00093-8
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.51
Funders
- Alzheimer's Society
- European Commission