Overview
- Published in Translational Psychiatry on December 8, the study is the first to apply a deep-learning brain age model to the World Trade Center responder cohort.
- Researchers used BrainAgeNeXt, trained on more than 11,000 MRI scans, to estimate each participant’s brain age from structural imaging.
- WTC responders with PTSD showed significantly older brain-age estimates than peers without PTSD, with reported differences of roughly 3 years versus near-zero in controls.
- Longer time working at the site moderated the association, with greater Ground Zero exposure linked to more advanced brain-age signatures.
- The authors highlight brain age as a potential monitoring biomarker and urge sustained surveillance and integrated mental–neurological care, noting collaboration with Stony Brook and funding from CDC/NIOSH, NIA/NIH, and the Swiss National Science Foundation.