British Study Links Adult Financial Stress to Brain Damage in 2,700 People
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Jul 27
British Study Links Adult Financial Stress to Brain Damage in 2,700 People
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Jul 27
Summary
More than 2,700 Britons born in 1946 showed worse memory, slower cognition and brain-health markers later in life when they had faced sustained financial strain from their 20s to early 50s.
The study found the poorest 20% and people who reported bill-paying trouble at least twice in their late 30s or 40s performed worse even after researchers controlled for childhood disadvantage, education and early cognition.
Jacques Wels of University College London said the decades-long tracking strengthens the case that adult poverty drove the damage, with brain changes not appearing until participants reached their 50s.
Researchers said they could not fully separate stress itself from linked behaviors such as smoking and drinking, while an outside expert cautioned that social inequities and survivor bias may also shape the results.
Published in Innovation in Aging, the findings suggest anti-poverty policy could also reduce later-life brain-health risks, including dementia.