UCL Study: Financial Stress Accelerates Brain Ageing and Triggers Dementia
Persistent financial problems during early and middle adulthood are closely linked to a decline in cognitive abilities in one’s 50s and signs of accelerated brain ageing later in life. Researchers state that chronic stress and financial worries over many years can gradually damage brain health.
A recent study led by University College London (UCL) and published in the journal ‘Innovation in Ageing’ shows that persistent economic difficulties can accelerate age-related cognitive decline. The study analysed data from 2,759 individuals in the UK as part of the MRC National Survey of Health and Development (the 1946 British Cohort Study).
Researchers found that individuals facing sustained financial difficulties or persistent low income during adulthood tended to perform poorly on cognitive tests by the age of 53. In a subgroup that underwent brain scans, persistent low income was also associated with poorer brain health, including brain atrophy between the ages of 69 and 71.
Dr Jacques Wels, corresponding author from the UCL Unit for Lifelong Health & Ageing, explained that the accumulation of hardship over many years had the greatest impact. “Our study used decades of data which allowed us to see that the accumulation of hardship over many years was associated with the worst cognitive health outcomes, rather than just occasional episodes of difficulty,” he said.
The link between financial hardship and poor brain health appeared particularly strong in men, individuals who experienced loss in childhood, and carriers of the APOE-ε4 genetic variant associated with Alzheimer’s risk.
Men experiencing persistent financial difficulties showed poorer cognitive test performance at age 53 compared to women in the same category. Researchers suggest this may be due to unhealthy behaviours (such as smoking and alcohol consumption) and the psychological pressure of being the primary breadwinner among the 1946 birth cohort.
How Money Stress Damages the Brain?
Researchers tracked participants’ household income at three stages of adulthood: ages 26, 43, and 53. Approximately 16% of participants were classified as having persistent low income (in the bottom 20% at least twice). Meanwhile, 12% of participants experienced persistent financial hardship, measured through daily financial pressures such as difficulty paying bills.
Brain health was evaluated using verbal memory tests, processing speed, and MRI scans to look for indicators such as ventricular expansion (enlargement of the fluid-filled cavities in the brain), which is a sign of declining brain health.
Professor Praveetha Patalay, senior author of the study, emphasised the importance of social policy. “Our findings show that supporting people facing financial difficulties and reducing chronic poverty can also help prevent future cognitive decline and cases of dementia,” she concluded.