Faster brain aging linked to death and disease across the body
An observational analysis of brain scans from over 60,000 UK Biobank participants linked accelerated brain aging to death and diseases affecting multiple organ systems.
60,000 participants
The catch: Brain-age acceleration measures an estimated age gap rather than the speed of brain aging
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In an observational study, researchers used brain magnetic resonance imaging scans from over 60,000 UK Biobank participants to estimate brain-age acceleration. This measure compares a brain’s estimated age with a person’s actual age. Accelerated brain aging was associated with death and diseases affecting multiple organ systems.
The researchers identified genetic regions associated with brain-age acceleration. A score combining associated genetic variants was also linked to death and diseases across multiple systems in participants outside the genetic discovery analysis. Analyses of proteins and small molecules circulating in the blood identified many markers associated with brain-age acceleration. The authors also identified drugs with potential effects on brain aging by examining interactions between drugs and genes linked to the measure.
Why it matters
The authors suggested that the biological signals associated with brain aging offer potential targets for research on interventions aimed at slowing it.
Caveats
The observational findings do not show that accelerated brain aging caused disease or death. The drug findings came from an analysis of gene–drug interactions, not a treatment trial.
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