Living in disadvantaged communities accelerates brain aging, MR imaging shows
Living in a socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhood is associated with measurable differences in brain health, according to a new study published Tuesday in Radiology.
Imaging data suggest that these changes include accelerated brain aging, reduced brain volume and greater white matter hyperintensity burden. The findings add to a growing body of research examining how social and environmental conditions may be reflected in measurable changes to the brain. The authors suggest that MRI-derived biomarkers could potentially provide objective measures for studying health disparities and identifying populations at greater risk for neurological disease.
“We’ve long suspected that your living environment affects your brain, but until now it’s not been proven at scale in clinical populations,” John-Paul J. Yu, MD, PhD, associate professor of radiology, psychiatry, biomedical engineering, biostatistics and medical informatics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's school of medicine, said in an RSNA news release on the findings. “We’ve shown very robust, measurable metrics that our living environment has an outsized impact on the brain at the molecular and cellular level.”
Researchers analyzed brain MRI examinations from nearly 2,900 adults ranging from 18 to 96 years old. The scans were obtained from consecutive inpatient and outpatient clinical exams performed between January and June 2024 at University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics and affiliated community sites. Patients with imaging evidence of disease were excluded.
Using this data, the team examined whether neighborhood-level socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with two primary MRI-based measures of brain health: brain age gap and total brain volume. Brain age gap represents the difference between a person's chronological age and the estimated biological age of their brain based on MRI characteristics. To measure neighborhood disadvantage, investigators assigned each patient an area deprivation index score based on their residential ZIP code. The index incorporates measures such as income, education, employment and housing characteristics. Analyses were adjusted for age and sex, with brain volume measurements normalized to intracranial volume.
Researchers found that patients living in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods had a higher brain age gap and lower total brain volume compared to those living in less disadvantaged areas. They also identified greater volumes of white matter hyperintensities among residents of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods; the latter are commonly seen on brain MRI and can reflect small vessel or cerebrovascular injury. Greater white matter hyperintensity burden has been associated with cognitive impairment, memory loss and dementia risk.
The authors noted that neighborhood disadvantage reflects broader socioeconomic and structural factors rather than individual behavior alone. They believe incorporating measures such as area deprivation index into future research could help investigators better understand disparities in neurological health and potentially inform targeted interventions.
“Neighborhood disadvantage, quantified by indices such as the [area deprivation index], is an important determinant because it reflects accumulated structural inequities extending beyond individual behaviors that contribute to disparities in clinical outcomes,” Yu said. “It’s important to factor in this data when planning health intervention programs, crafting public policy and identifying geographically defined areas that need improved access to care.”
Read more here.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.