More than five Many years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we still discover the consequences of not only the virus, but also the prolonged stress, isolation, loss and uncertainty that Pandemic caused. Modern scientific research, published this month Nature communicationHe revealed that Pandemic could accelerate the aging of the brain in humans, even if they were never infected with coronavirus.
Scientists at the University of Nottingham in the UK analyzed the images of brain captured before and after the start of the health crisis. Scientists have found that the brains of those who survived Pandemia seemed to grow faster compared to those whose brain was scanned only before March 2020.
“I was most surprised by the fact that even people who did not have Covid showed a significant increase in brain aging indicators,” said Ali-Reza Mohammadi-naad, co-author of the study, Wa statement on the university website. “It really shows how much the experience of the pandemic itself, from insulation to uncertainty, could affect the health of our brain.”
The team used longitudinal data from UK BiobankA huge set of data that periodically gathers biological information from about half a million people for a long time and which includes scans MRI almost 1,000 adults. Of these people, some received two scans before Pandemia (control group), while others had one earlier and one after limitations and health restrictions were implemented in response to a viral explosion (“Pandemic” group).
“MRI longitudinal data purchased before and after a pandemic from the British Biobank gave us a rare window to observe how such a large life event can affect the brain,” said Stamatios Sotropoulos, a professor of computing neuroimilation at the University of Nottingham and a joint study, in statement.
To estimate the “age of the brain” of each person, scientists trained machine learning model for over 15,000 fit volunteers without chronic diseases to allow it to be determined, provided that the older or younger brain looked in relation to the chronological age. Then they used this tool to assess the age of MRI brain scanning in two Biobank groups. Looking at the second scans in each group, the average difference between chronological and measured was 5.5 months higher in a pandemic group compared to the control group.
Scientists also discovered that the acceleration of brain aging was more pronounced in the elderly, men and people from adverse socio -economic environments, such as low educational levels, uncertain jobs or difficulties in the apartment and health.
“This examination reminds us that brain health is shaped not only by the disease, but by our daily environment,” said Dorothee Auer, the main author of the study, in in Wid. statement Published by the University of Nottingham. “Pandemic burdens the lives of people, especially those who are already able to unfavorable.”
Although the aging of the brain was widely evident among people living by Pandemia, only infected people showed measurable cognitive disorders, the Covid symptom that was documented in the past. The study showed that people from the pandemic group who took place in connection with two scans experienced a decrease in mental efficiency and processing speed tests. In contrast, those who have not been infected have not demonstrated significant cognitive changes, which suggests that structural aging does not always translate into evident functional symptoms.
However, the authors admit that there are some critical restrictions in this observation study that could deviate the results. They cover a time interval between scans of people differing in both groups, as well as Biobank in Great Britain, who deprived of the representation of the most marginalized sectors of the British population.
Scientists also emphasized the possibility of reversibility, because only brain scans were analyzed from two time points, which means that neurological recovery may occur in the following years. “We don’t know yet whether the observed changes can be reversed, but this is an encouraging idea,” said Auer.
This story originally appeared Wired in Spanish and was translated from Spanish.