A recent study published in Nature Communications reveals that the pandemic accelerated brain aging by an average of 5.5 months, regardless of COVID-19 infection. The study highlights the significant impact of social isolation, stress, and lifestyle changes on mental health, particularly among older adults, men, and those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Pandemic Accelerated Brain Aging, New Study Reveals
Pandemic Accelerated Brain Aging, New Study Reveals
A new study shows that the brain aged more during the pandemic, regardless of whether you had COVID-19 or not, according to Nature Communications.
The aging of the brain during the pandemic cannot be linked to whether one was infected or not, according to a study recently published by Nature Communications.
In the study, the brains of nearly 1,000 people were analyzed before and after the pandemic. The results show that the brain aged an average of 5.5 months more than what is considered normal.
The aging was most evident in older individuals, men, and people from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Cognitive Ability Affected by COVID
However, the study showed that cognitive ability only decreased in those who had been infected with COVID.
This means that the aging of the brain itself does not necessarily need to affect memory, for example.
"The study underscores how significant the pandemic environment was for mental and neurological health," says biologist Mahdi Moqri, who studies aging at Harvard Medical School, to Nature.
Isolation, Stress, and Lifestyle Changes
It is unclear whether the effects the pandemic had on brain health are reversible or not.
Social isolation, lifestyle changes such as reduced physical activity, stress, and uncertainty rather than COVID are believed to have influenced the aging, according to researchers at the University of Nottingham.
"Brain health is affected not only by diseases but also by one's daily environment," says one of the researchers, Ali-Reza Mohammadi-Nejad.