Genetic and socioeconomic modulation of biomarkers

Identification and measurement of biomarkers has become a key component of much research in the neurodegeneration field, particularly in research linking psychosocial stressors and brain health. Socioeconomic position may influence neurodegeneration through several pathways, including behaviors and psychosocial stress levels, both of which may influence biological markers of inflammation, coagulation, and adhesion. Underserved populations, particularly from low‐to‐middle‐income countries in Latin America (LMICs), are more likely to have experienced poor, chronic stress due to discrimination, limited educational and occupational opportunities, and minimal access to social support and health care. All of these factors can modify neurodegenerative disease risk and clinical progression of dementia, in part through changes in immune function. Complicating matters, few studies have characterized inflammatory biomarker levels in LMICs, where biological and environmental exposures likely modify immune profiles. Finally, the effect of complex genetic admixture on both baseline and disease‐associated inflammatory biomarker levels remains underexplored, greatly limiting the generalizability of dementia biomarkers (beta amyloid, tau, neurofilament) that were largely developed in homogenous populations.