Publications [#383159] of Terrie E. Moffitt

Journal Articles

1. Barrett-Young, A; Cawston, EE; Ryan, B; Abraham, WC; Ambler, A; Anderson, T; Cheyne, K; Goodin, E; Hogan, S; Houts, RM; Ireland, D; Knodt, AR; Kokaua, J; Melzer, TR; Ramrakha, S; Sugden, K; Williams, B; Wilson, P; Caspi, A; Hariri, AR; Moffitt, TE; Poulton, R; Theodore, R (2025). Examining the relationship between plasma pTau181 and cognitive decline, structural brain integrity, and biological ageing in midlife.. medRxiv. [doi]
   (last updated on 2026/01/09)

   Abstract:
   INTRODUCTION: Although plasma pTau181 has been shown to accurately discriminate patients with Alzheimer's disease from healthy older adults, its utility as a preclinical biomarker in middle-aged community-based cohorts is unclear. METHODS: Participants were members of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a longitudinal study of 1037 people born in New Zealand in 1972-1973. Plasma pTau181, MRI-based brain structure, and DunedinPACE (an epigenetic biomarker of biological ageing) were measured at age 45; cognition was measured in childhood and age 45. RESULTS: We observed a wide range of pTau181 concentrations in our same-aged sample (n=856; M=13.6pg/mL, SD=9.1pg/mL). Males had significantly higher pTau181 concentrations than females. No statistically significant associations were observed with cognitive decline, lower structural brain integrity, or accelerated biological ageing. DISCUSSION: In this midlife cohort, wide variation in pTau181 concentrations was present by age 45, but was not associated with patterns of AD-risk in cognition, brain structure, or biological ageing.