Particle.news
Download on the App Store
25 ARTICLES
·
2d ago

COVID-19 Pandemic Accelerated Brain Ageing by 5.5 Months

Study authors urge follow-up research into whether these brain changes reverse over time.

A bicyclist rides their bike down a nearly empty Grant Street in San Francisco’s Chinatown during a COVID-19 surge in December 2020.
Image
A man walks through an empty outdoor sitting area in front of Curio in San Francisco's Mission District where restrictions were to take effect during a COVID-19 surge on Dec. 6, 2020. A new study found accelerated brain aging among those who lived through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overview

  • Machine-learning analysis of MRI scans from nearly 1,000 UK Biobank participants who were imaged before and after the pandemic showed an average 5.5-month increase in brain-age gap compared with controls.
  • Accelerated brain ageing emerged even in uninfected individuals, implicating pandemic stressors such as social isolation and uncertainty in neurological ageing.
  • Men, older adults and participants from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds experienced the greatest spike in brain-age acceleration.
  • Only participants who contracted SARS-CoV-2 between scans exhibited measurable declines in mental flexibility and processing speed.
  • Researchers now plan longer-term studies to assess the reversibility of pandemic-driven brain ageing and to develop targeted interventions.