Anemia Tied to Higher Dementia Risk

Older adults with anemia showed elevated Alzheimer-related biomarkers and a higher hazard of dementia over follow-up

By
Andrea Surnit
April 28, 2026
3 min

MDSpire News

Objective:

To investigate the association between anemia and dementia risk in older adults, along with related blood biomarkers.

Approach:

Key Findings:

Participants with anemia had a 66% higher hazard of developing dementia compared to those with normal hemoglobin levels.
Anemia was linked to higher baseline levels of p-tau217, NfL, and GFAP, indicating Alzheimer disease pathology.
The highest dementia risk was observed in participants with both anemia and elevated NfL levels, nearly fourfold higher than those without these factors.
Associations were stronger in men than women, with significant interactions for p-tau217 and NfL.

Interpretation:

The findings suggest a potential biological interplay between anemia and neurodegenerative processes, with the highest dementia risk occurring when low hemoglobin and elevated AD biomarkers coexisted.

Limitations:

Hemoglobin and biomarker levels were measured only at baseline, limiting the assessment of changes over time.
Exclusion of participants with missing data may have led to underestimation of associations.
Most anemia cases were normocytic, limiting evaluation of other anemia subtypes.
The cohort was predominantly White, affecting generalizability.