Meaning in life and neurobiomarkers of brain health in the UK Biobank

This study examines meaning in life and four neurobiomarkers implicated in dementia risk: amyloid-β 42 to 40 ratio, phosphorylated tau-181, neurofilament light, and glial fibrillary acidic protein. Adults without dementia ( N = 1150; M age = 59.89) from the UK Biobank reported their meaning in life; neurobiomarkers were assayed twice. Meaning in life was unrelated to the biomarkers at either assessment (βs range −0.03–0.02). No association was moderated by age. These findings do not support the hypothesis that meaning in life is associated with neurobiomarkers in adults without dementia. The relation between meaning and cognition may be through other pathways, such as resilience to neuropathology.