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Volga German surnames and Alzheimer’s disease in Argentina: an epidemiological perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2024

Arturo Leonardo Morales Open the ORCID record for Arturo Leonardo Morales [Opens in a new window] ,
Marcelo Isidro Figueroa Open the ORCID record for Marcelo Isidro Figueroa [Opens in a new window] ,
Pablo Navarro Open the ORCID record for Pablo Navarro [Opens in a new window] ,
Estela Raquel Chaves ,
Anahí Ruderman Open the ORCID record for Anahí Ruderman [Opens in a new window] ,
José Edgardo Dipierri Open the ORCID record for José Edgardo Dipierri [Opens in a new window]  and
Virginia Ramallo Open the ORCID record for Virginia Ramallo [Opens in a new window]
Arturo Leonardo Morales
Affiliation:
Instituto Patagónico de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas (IPCSH), Centro Nacional Patagónico, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Puerto Madryn, Argentina Laboratorio de Ciencias de las Imágenes, Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y Computadoras, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina Departamento de Informática, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Trelew, Argentina Programa de Referencia y Biobanco Genómico de la Población Argentina (PoblAr), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Marcelo Isidro Figueroa
Affiliation:
Unidad de Genética, Hospital Materno Infantil Doctor Hector Quintana, San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina Instituto de Ecorregiones Andinas, Universidad Nacional de Jujuy-CONICET, San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina
Pablo Navarro
Affiliation:
Instituto Patagónico de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas (IPCSH), Centro Nacional Patagónico, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Puerto Madryn, Argentina Laboratorio de Ciencias de las Imágenes, Departamento de Ingeniería Eléctrica y Computadoras, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahía Blanca, Argentina Departamento de Informática, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Trelew, Argentina Programa de Referencia y Biobanco Genómico de la Población Argentina (PoblAr), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Estela Raquel Chaves
Affiliation:
Instituto de Biología de la Altura, Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina
Anahí Ruderman
Affiliation:
Instituto Patagónico de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas (IPCSH), Centro Nacional Patagónico, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Puerto Madryn, Argentina Programa de Referencia y Biobanco Genómico de la Población Argentina (PoblAr), Buenos Aires, Argentina
José Edgardo Dipierri
Affiliation:
Programa de Referencia y Biobanco Genómico de la Población Argentina (PoblAr), Buenos Aires, Argentina Unidad de Genética, Hospital Materno Infantil Doctor Hector Quintana, San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina
Virginia Ramallo*
Affiliation:
Instituto Patagónico de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas (IPCSH), Centro Nacional Patagónico, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Puerto Madryn, Argentina Programa de Referencia y Biobanco Genómico de la Población Argentina (PoblAr), Buenos Aires, Argentina
*
Corresponding author: Virginia Ramallo; Email: ramallo@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar
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Abstract

The N141I variant (PSEN1 gene) is associated with familial forms of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in descendants of Volga Germans, whose migration to Argentina is well documented. As a proxy for geographic origin, surnames can be a valuable tool in population studies. The 2015 Argentine Electoral Registry provided geographic data for 30,530,194 individuals, including 326,922 with Volga German surnames. Between 2005 and 2017, the Ministry of Health recorded 4,115,216 deaths, of which 17,226 were attributed to AD and related causes. The study used both diachronic and synchronic data to identify patterns of territorial distribution and co-spatiality, using Moran’s I and generalised linear model statistics. The frequency of surnames of Volga German origin accounts for 43.53% of the variation in deaths from AD and three clusters of high non-random frequency were found. Almost 150 years later, people descending from the Volga migration remain highly concentrated and may have a different risk of developing AD. The identification of spatial patterns provides reliable guidance for medical research and highlights the importance of specific health policies for particular populations.

Keywords

surname analysesepidemiologyVolga migration-descendedAlzheimer’s disease
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 56 , Issue 4 , July 2024 , pp. 625 - 638
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

†

Arturo Leonardo Morales and Marcelo Isidro Figueroa contributed equally to this manuscript.

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