Financial hardship may age the brain faster, researchers say in new study - Fox News

What the report says

Fox News reported that a new University College London study links long-running financial hardship with weaker cognitive performance and signs of faster brain aging in later life. The research used data from 2,759 U.K. participants in the MRC National Survey of Health and Development, a cohort born in 1946, according to a UCL press release cited by the outlet.

Participants who had persistent low income or financial difficulty over adulthood scored lower on tests of verbal memory and processing speed. Fox News reported that MRI measures also showed poorer brain health among those with sustained low income, including indicators such as brain shrinkage and enlarged ventricles. Study author Dr. Jacques Wels told Fox News Digital that the findings were consistent across multiple measures of lifetime financial adversity and cognitive decline.

The reported associations were most pronounced among men, people who had disadvantaged childhoods and carriers of the APOE-ε4 variant, which is associated with higher Alzheimer’s disease risk. The researchers suggested that decades of financial strain, rather than brief periods of hardship, may be tied to accelerated cognitive aging. They proposed possible mechanisms including chronic stress, inflammation and the mental burden of persistent money worries.

The study does not prove that financial hardship caused the brain changes, because it was observational. Wels also noted that the cohort’s experience reflects the social context of people born in 1946, including older expectations around men as household earners. The UCL team said more research is needed to determine whether improving financial circumstances can directly reduce the risk of cognitive decline or dementia.