Living in deprived areas linked to poorer brain health

Living in a disadvantaged neighbourhood may be linked to poorer brain health, with researchers finding higher brain age, lower total brain volume and more signs of vascular damage in people living in the most deprived areas. Where people live may leave a measurable imprint on their brains, according to new research published in Radiology, the journal of the Radiological Society of North America. Researchers analysed nearly 3,000 brain MRI scans from patients aged between 18 and 96. They compared brain measures with an Area Deprivation Index (ADI) score, a neighbourhood-level measure of socioeconomic disadvantage based on factors including income, education, employment and housing. The index describes the conditions of a place rather than the circumstances of any individual resident. People living in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods had a higher “brain age” and lower total brain volume than those living in less deprived areas. “Where you live leaves a measurable imprint on your brain,” said John-Paul J. Yu, one of the researchers. An individual’s environment, he said, has “clear, quantifiable implications for brain age, and, by proxy, brain health”. The findings add to evidence that the conditions in which people are born, live, work and age can shape long-term neurological health. The researchers also found higher volumes of white matter hyperintensities — bright spots visible on MRI scans that are associated with damage to small blood vessels in the brain — among people living in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. “White matter hyperintensities are essentially the footprints of cardiovascular damage in the brain,” Yu said, pointing to factors such as high blood pressure, poor sleep and chronic stress that can affect blood flow to the brain over time. Higher volumes of white matter hyperintensities have been associated with an increased risk of memory loss, cognitive problems and dementia. Yu said neighbourhood disadvantage should therefore be considered when designing health interventions and public policy. “Neighbourhood disadvantage, quantified by indices such as the ADI, is an important determinant because it reflects accumulated structural inequities extending beyond individual behaviours that contribute to disparities in clinical outcomes,” he said.