A new study led by the University of Nottingham has found that the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated brain aging due to stress and isolation, affecting even those who were never infected. This discovery provides a new perspective on the pandemic’s long-term implications on mental health.
The COVID-19 pandemic may have accelerated brain aging, according to a new study led by the University of Nottingham.
The research, published in Nature Communications, reveals significant changes in brain health among those who lived through the pandemic, irrespective of their infection status.
“What surprised me most was that even people who hadn’t had Covid showed significant increases in brain aging rates. It really shows how much the experience of the pandemic itself, everything from isolation to uncertainty, may have affected our brain health,” lead researcher Ali-Reza Mohammadi-Nejad, a research fellow at the University of Nottingham, said in a news release.
The research team analyzed longitudinal brain scans from nearly 1,000 healthy adults, collected as part of the UK Biobank study. Some participants had scans before and after the pandemic, while others had scans only before.
Using advanced imaging and machine learning, the researchers estimated each individual’s “brain age” — a measure of how old their brain appeared compared to their actual age.
Their findings showed that individuals who lived through the pandemic experienced signs of accelerated brain aging. The changes were most pronounced in older individuals, men and those from more disadvantaged backgrounds.
Notably, only participants infected with COVID-19 between their scans exhibited declines in mental flexibility and processing speed.
“This study reminds us that brain health is shaped not only by illness, but by our everyday environment,” added senior author Dorothee Auer, a professor of neuroimaging at the University of Nottingham. “The pandemic put a strain on people’s lives, especially those already facing disadvantage. We can’t yet test whether the changes we saw will reverse, but it’s certainly possible, and that’s an encouraging thought.”
The brain age model, built using brain scans from over 15,000 healthy individuals, provided a robust framework for this research. This allowed the team to accurately estimate brain aging and study the effects of major life events on brain health.
“The longitudinal MRI data acquired before and after the pandemic from the UK Biobank gave us a rare window to observe how major life events can affect the brain,” added co-senior author Stamatios Sotiropoulos, a professor of computational neuroimaging at the University of Nottingham.
Supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre and the Medical Research Council (MRC) DEMISTIFI programme, this study offers critical insights into the broader impacts of the pandemic on mental health. While the study indicates potential reversibility of these brain changes, their long-term implications remain an area of active investigation.
Source: University of Nottingham