Better CV Health Tied to Lower Neurodegeneration Risk: Daily Dose

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Patient Care brings primary care clinicians a lot of medical news every day—it’s easy to miss an important study. The Daily Dose provides a concise summary of one of the website's leading stories you may not have seen.

On March 13, 2025, we reported on a study published in JAMA Network Open that examined the association between cardiovascular health (CVH) and biomarkers of neurodegeneration, including neurofilament light chain (NfL) and total tau (t-tau).

The study

Researchers conducted a cohort study within the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP) of adults aged 65 years and older between 1993 and 2012. The main outcome was the association of CVH score with serum biomarkers of NfL and t-tau as measured using linear regression and mixed-effects models.

The study cohort of adults aged 65 years and older (mean age 73.1 years) numbered 1018 of which 61.4% were women and approximately 60% were Black individuals. Researchers divided the group into 3 subgroups based on CVH scores as defined by the American Heart Association Life’s Simple 7 tool: 0-6 points (low CVH), 7-9 points (moderate CVH), and 10-14 points (high CVH).

The findings

Investigators reported that higher CVH scores (10-14 points) were associated with a 18.9% relative decrease in serum level of NfL compared with low CVH scores (β = −0.091; SE, 0.025; P <.001). A higher CVH score was also linked to a 1.7% slower annual increase in NfL levels as study participants aged (β = −0.008; SE, 0.004; P = .04). After multivariable adjustment, the team found that a 1-point increase in CVH score was associated with a statistically significant 3.5% relative decrease in serum NfL levels (β = −0.015; SE, 0.004; P <.001). They observed no association between CVH and serum levels of total tau (t-tau), another biomarker of neurodegeneration and a co-primary outcome measure.

In their analysis of the association of CVH score and serum biomarker concentrations by sex and race/ethnicity, multivariable adjusted models demonstrated that a 1-point increase in CVH score was associated with lower serum levels of NfL in both men and women and also among both Black and White individuals.

Authors' comments

"These findings suggest that promoting CVH in older adults may help alleviate the burden of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly among Black adults, who are known to experience a higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease."

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