A new study from University College London suggests that chronic money worries may accelerate brain ageing, particularly in men. Researchers analysed data from 2,759 participants in the 1946 British cohort study, classifying those who were in the bottom 20% of income at least twice as having persistent low income – about one in six participants.
People who experienced persistent financial struggles in early and middle adulthood performed worse on cognitive tests at age 53. Brain scans of participants in their late 60s and early 70s revealed that those with lower incomes had poorer brain health, with the link being stronger in men.
Researchers suspect that financial hardship places chronic stress on the systems involved in cognitive processing, and may also take up 'bandwidth' in brain regions responsible for attention and decision-making. Men who had poor childhoods and adult financial hardship were at the highest risk.
Professor Praveetha Patalay, of UCL, said: 'Our findings suggest that supporting people facing financial hardship and reducing chronic poverty could also help prevent cognitive decline and dementia cases in the future.' The study was published in the journal Innovations in Aging.
Dr Richard Oakley, associate director at the Alzheimer's Society, commented: 'This study is a reminder that dementia is not just a health issue, but a social and economic one too. It adds to growing evidence that the factors shaping our brain health begin long before any symptoms of dementia appear.'
