A new study from the University of California reveals that going through difficult events such as family conflicts, death or financial difficulties would accelerate the aging of the brain.
The loss of a loved one, a family dispute, illness or financial difficulties are hardships we are all likely to experience one day. Painful and often complicated, these events affect our morale and can sometimes cause depression or even depression. According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of California at San Diego (United States), they are also responsible for the accelerated aging of our brain.
Aging accelerated by a third of a year
In their work, published Thursday April 5 in the review Neurobiology of Aging, the researchers explain having found that difficult events such as a divorce, separation, miscarriage or the death of a loved one could accelerate the aging of the brains of men over 55, even taking into account factors associated with the risk of aging such as alcohol consumption, cardiovascular risk, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
To reach this conclusion, the scientists studied 359 men between the ages of 57 and 69 participating in a study called the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA). They were asked to make a list of stressful life-changing events over the past two years. They had been asked for a previous list five years earlier when they joined the study. All participants then underwent MRI scans in order to measure the volume and thickness of their cerebral cortex, that is, the outer layer of the brain related to consciousness, memory, attention and thought.
The researchers then realized that each stressful and difficult event was associated with an increase in the predicted brain age difference of 0.37 years. In other words, a single painful event can physiologically age the brain by a third of a year of a person’s chronological age. This is especially true for some difficult events like divorce or separation and family death, says Prof. Sean Hatton, postdoctoral researcher at UC San Diego School of Medicine and lead author of the study.
Further studies are needed
Until now, exposure to chronic stress has long been associated with biological damage to the brain and its premature aging, due in particular to oxidative and mitochondrial damage in cells, poor immune response and genomic changes. This new work now provides a possible link between molecular aging, changes in brain structure and the occurrence of stressful life events.
For the researchers, their work on predicting the age of the brain may be particularly useful in helping patients understand their brain health in relation to their age. They may also be of value in clinical trials to improve study design and participant recruitment.
However, the researchers admit, their work provides a snapshot of a narrow demographic, as they only looked at white males over the age of 55. Further studies, involving a larger number of participants of different sex, age and ethnicity, are therefore needed to confirm their conclusions.
.