A new study published in This research highlights the critical role of structural inequality in shaping brain health. Researchers analyzed brain scans from over 2,100 people and found that greater economic inequality in a nation was associated with reduced brain volume and connectivity, independent of other factors like age, sex, education, or cognitive ability.
People raised in poorer communities or nations appear to have brains more likely to shrink with age, as well as disrupted connectivity between brain regions related to memory and thinking, according to results published recently. This research highlights the critical role of structural inequality in shaping brain health , senior researcher Agustín Ibáñez, a professor in global brain health at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, said in a news release from the school.
Rates rise particularly in low- and middle-income countries, our findings emphasize the need for targeted interventions to address the root causes of brain health disparities, which appear to be specific to each region,” Ibáñez added. For the study, researchers analyzed brain scans from more than 2,100 people living in either the United States or the Latin American nations of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico. Results showed that the greater the inequality between rich and poor in a nation, the more likely people were to suffer from reduced brain volume and connectivity. These associations were independent of other factors like age, sex, educational level, or cognitive ability. “Living in a context of aggregate inequality affects brain health regardless of your specific socioeconomic level, demonstrating the far-reaching consequences of societal disparities on the brain,” researchers said in a news release.aging and neurodegeneration,” lead researcher Agustina Legaz with the Latin American Brain Health institute in Chile said in a news release.Dementia, Alzheimer's Disease, and Aging Brains Get the facts on dementia and disorders such as Lewy Body dementia, Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, and more. Learn the warning signs of dementia
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