{"id":592877,"date":"2026-04-19T02:39:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T02:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/592877\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T02:39:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T02:39:22","slug":"study-most-would-take-alzheimers-blood-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/592877\/","title":{"rendered":"Study: Most Would Take Alzheimer’s Blood Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most people would want to take a blood test that can assess their risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease<\/a>, rather than remain anxious about their odds, a new study says.<\/p>\n

About 85% of primary care patients said they\u2019d take a blood test that looks for the toxic proteins linked to Alzheimer\u2019s, according to a report published April 15 in Alzheimer\u2019s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer\u2019s Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These patients said they were interested even though nearly 3 out of 4 (73%) said they expect a positive test would cause them emotional distress.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because anxiety over Alzheimer\u2019s can be overwhelming, lead researcher Andrea Russell<\/a>, a psychologist at Northwestern University in Chicago, said in a news release.<\/p>\n

Russell treats people with early cognitive impairment, and sees how a missed word or a forgotten appointment can spark dread over Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see patients whose lives start to get smaller,\u201d Russell said. \u201cSome are afraid to leave the house because they worry they\u2019ll forget something or get lost. Others don\u2019t want to know what\u2019s happening because there is so much doom and gloom around Alzheimer\u2019s. For many people, it feels like the new cancer diagnosis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alzheimer\u2019s affects an estimated 7.2 million older adults in the U.S., and that number is projected to double by 2060, researchers said in background notes.<\/p>\n

A couple of Alzheimer\u2019s blood tests have received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for people 55 and older with symptoms of the degenerative brain disease, researchers said in background notes.<\/p>\n

The tests look for levels of amyloid and tau proteins in a person\u2019s bloodstream. Those proteins are known to form plaques and tangles in the brains of people with Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Word hasn\u2019t gotten around about them yet. Results found that about 84% of patients were unaware such tests existed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese tests aren\u2019t ready for widespread use, but they soon could be,\u201d Russell said. \u201cAs researchers, we strive for care that centers on the needs of the patient first, so it\u2019s important for us to know what they think about those tests.\u201d<\/p>\n

To assess how ready people are for these tests, researchers surveyed nearly 600 primary care patients participating in three ongoing Chicago-area studies. All were 21 or older with at least one chronic health problem.<\/p>\n

In the survey, participants were given brief education on the tests. They were informed that the tests identify higher risk, but do not provide a definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Results showed that:<\/p>\n


\n\t <\/p>\n

94% said it was important to offer the tests to patients with memory or thinking problems.<\/p>\n


\n\t
\n\t <\/p>\n

85% said they would agree to testing if recommended by their clinician.<\/p>\n


\n\t
\n\t <\/p>\n

60% said it was \u201cvery important\u201d to offer yearly testing to adults 65 and older, even though such screening is not currently recommended.<\/p>\n


\n\t <\/p>\n

\u201cPatients and families are often dissatisfied with delays in receiving diagnoses for cognitive problems and feeling unsure what to do,\u201d Russell said. \u201cThey don\u2019t know whether their perceived cognitive impairment is an unrelated health issue, normal aging or dementia not diagnosed yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

People said they wouldn\u2019t take positive results lying down. Nearly 9 in 10 (87%) said they\u2019re prepared to take the steps necessary to protect their brain health.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s healthy for the brain is healthy for the body,\u201d Russell said. \u201cIf people learn they may be at higher risk, they may want to take action, such as managing chronic conditions, improving nutrition and staying engaged with their medical care. Those steps could help them prolong independence and well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n

The top barriers to getting the test were cost (49%); concerns about test reliability (35%); fear of a positive result (22%); and concern about being treated differently after a positive result (24%).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most people would want to take a blood test that can assess their risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease, rather…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592878,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[6053,44833,97,252,253],"class_list":{"0":"post-592877","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-alzheimers","9":"tag-blood-test","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-health-care","12":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}