Metabolic syndrome linked to altered brain energy estimates
A cross-sectional analysis of 25,697 adults aged 40–70 linked metabolic syndrome severity to brain network energy profiles suggesting accelerated aging.
Cohort study
Limit: Brain energy costs were model estimates, not direct measurements
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In 25,697 UK Biobank adults aged 40–70, researchers conducted a cross-sectional observational analysis of metabolic syndrome and brain networks. They defined the syndrome as at least three of five risk factors involving waist size, blood fats, blood pressure and blood sugar control. They used magnetic resonance imaging of brain connections to model the energy needed to engage eight networks.
Greater syndrome severity was associated with higher estimated energy costs in a network of deeper brain regions and lower costs in the visual network. Both energy profiles departed from age-matched expectations in patterns the authors interpreted as accelerated brain aging. Waist circumference was the strongest metabolic predictor, with stronger associations at older ages. Participants with the syndrome also scored lower on memory and processing-speed tests.
Why it matters
The authors propose that modeled brain network energy could offer a marker of how metabolic health relates to cognitive vulnerability with age.
Caveats
This cross-sectional analysis cannot establish causation or faster brain aging over time; energy costs were model estimates, not direct measurements. The sample excluded people reporting neurodegenerative disorders or cancers of the brain or its coverings.
- Modeling and theory
- Metabolic syndrome
- Waist circumference
- Brain age gap
- Brain network control energy
- Humans
The paper
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Imaging Neuroscience, Jun 22, 2026, Open access
Comments
Be the first to comment.