Domenico Girelli: Anemia Is Linked to Higher Dementia Risk and Elevated Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers
Domenico Girelli, Full Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of Medicine at the University of Verona, shared a post on LinkedIn about a recent article by Martina Valleta et al. published in JAMA Network Open, adding:
“A new study in JAMA Network Open links anemia to both higher dementia risk and elevated blood biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease.
Participants with low hemoglobin not only had a ~66% increased risk of dementia, but also showed higher levels of p-tau217, NfL, and GFAP—markers of neurodegeneration and glial activation.
The risk was even higher when anemia and elevated biomarkers coexisted.
Beyond the epidemiology, this raises an important biological question: what role does iron play?
Anemia is often interpreted as a lack of oxygen delivery, but it may also reflect altered iron availability.
Iron is essential for mitochondrial function, neuronal metabolism, and cellular resilience.
When iron is present but not bioavailable, key processes from energy production to redox balance may be impaired.
In this light, hemoglobin becomes more than a hematologic parameter: it may be a proxy of how effectively iron supports brain function.”
Title: Anemia and Blood Biomarkers of Alzheimer Disease in Dementia Development
Authors: Martina Valletta, Davide Liborio Vetrano, Chengxuan Qiu, Marco Canevelli, Edoardo Miccoli, Sarah Andersson, Claudia Fredolini, Giuseppe Bruno, Bengt Winblad, Laura Fratiglioni, Giulia Grande
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