Long-term financial hardship may accelerate age-related cognitive decline and contribute to poorer brain health, according to new research led by University College London (UCL).
Published in Innovation in Aging, the study examined data from 2,759 people in the UK who completed questionnaires throughout adulthood as part of the MRC National Survey of Health and Development, also known as the 1946 British Cohort Study.
Researchers found that people who experienced persistent financial hardship or low income during early and middle adulthood were more likely to perform poorly on cognitive tests at age 53.
Among participants who later underwent brain scans, consistently low income was also linked to poorer brain health between ages 69 and 71, including greater brain atrophy, or brain shrinkage.
These links remained after researchers accounted for other factors that could affect cognitive health, including childhood cognitive ability, educational attainment, and childhood disadvantage.
Decades of financial hardship may have the greatest impact
Corresponding author Dr Jack Wells, from UCL’s Lifelong Health and Ageing Unit, said: “Most research into cognitive ageing focuses only on economic hardship at one point in time. Using decades of data, our study shows that the accumulation of hardship over many years, rather than occasional adversity, is associated with the poorest cognitive health outcomes.”
Lead author Professor Pravisa Patale, from UCL’s Lifelong Health and Ageing Unit and Centre for Longitudinal Research, said: “Our findings suggest that supporting people facing economic hardship and reducing chronic poverty may also help prevent future cognitive decline and dementia.”
The relationship between economic adversity and poorer brain health later in life appeared particularly strong among men, people who experienced childhood disadvantage, and people who carried APOE-ε4, a genetic variant associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Men who experienced persistent economic hardship also performed worse than women on cognitive tests at age 53.
Researchers suggested several possible explanations for this difference. Men facing disadvantage may have been more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors, including smoking and excessive alcohol use. Men born in 1946 may also have experienced different financial pressures because they were more likely to be the primary breadwinners in their households.
How financial stress may affect the brain
Several biological and psychological pathways may help explain the connection between financial hardship and cognitive ageing.
Inflammation is one possible factor. Chronic stress can promote inflammation, which has been linked to accelerated brain ageing.
Ongoing concerns about money can also increase cognitive load. Constantly worrying about bills and household finances may consume mental resources, leaving less capacity for other cognitive tasks.
Researchers also identified unusual patterns in memory performance. Although people who experienced financial hardship or low income generally performed worse on cognitive tests at age 53, their memory scores declined more slowly between ages 53 and 69.
The researchers said this may be because these participants had already experienced substantial cognitive decline by age 53, leaving less room for further decline in later years compared with people who had not faced sustained financial strain.
Tracking income and financial hardship across adulthood
Participants reported their household income at three stages of adulthood: ages 26, 43, and 53. Researchers classified participants as having persistently low incomes if they were in the bottom 20% of their group at least twice. Approximately 16% of participants, or about 1 in 6, met this definition.
Financial hardship was assessed individually using questions about everyday financial pressures, including whether participants struggled to make ends meet or pay their bills.
Participants were classified as experiencing persistent financial difficulties if their questionnaire scores exceeded a specified threshold at least twice between ages 36 and 53. Approximately 12% of participants, or about 1 in 8, met this definition.
Measuring cognitive function and brain health
Cognitive assessments measured verbal memory and processing speed, two important indicators of cognitive function.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans enabled researchers to assess several measures of brain health, including brain atrophy, or shrinkage, and ventricular dilatation. Ventricular dilatation refers to the enlargement of fluid-filled cavities in the brain and is considered a potential sign of deteriorating brain health.
The 1946 British Cohort Study, hosted by UCL, is the longest continuously running birth cohort study in the world. Participants, who were registered at birth, celebrated their 80th birthdays at the beginning of this year.
Source: www.sciencedaily.com