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

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.