The effects of the recent COVID-19 pandemic went beyond such physical symptoms and fever and other more-serious side effects to include aging the brain faster than usual, according a recently released study.
The study – titled “Accelerated brain ageing during the COVID-19 pandemic” and published in the journal Nature – found that the pandemic aged the human brain by an average of 5.5 months and decreased cognitive function was seen in those infected by the virus.
“Our study suggests that the experience of living through the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with slightly faster brain aging, even in people who were never infected with the virus,” Ali-Reza Mohammadi-Nejad of the University of Nottingham in England and a lead author of the study told the Times.
Mohammadi-Nejad and his colleagues analyzed 15,334 brain scans from healthy adults with an average age of 63 from the UK Biobank.
The structural change is most pronounced in the elderly, males and in those from disadvantaged backgrounds, according to the study.
“We believe the cumulative stressors of the pandemic – such as prolonged isolation, disrupted routines, reduced physical and cognitive activity, and economic uncertainty –  likely contributed to the observed brain changes,” Mohammadi-Nejad said.
The study also indicated that the virus itself contributed to cognitive performance levels with those who were infected with the virus were shown to experience cognitive decline. The decline included “reduced mental flexibility and processing speed,” the study also concluded.
The study’s findings suggest “that physical brain ageing might not have been severe enough to affect mental acuity during the pandemic.”
“Brain health is shaped not only by illness, but by our everyday environment,” Mohammadi-Nejad said.
Looking toward the future, Mohammadi-Nejad and his colleagues will be to “unravel some of these mechanisms” and investigate if the effects are long-lasting.
“This study reminds us that brain health is shaped not only by illness, but by our everyday environment,” said Dorothee Auer, professor of Neuroimaging and another author. “The pandemic put a strain on people’s lives, especially those already facing disadvantage. We can’t yet test whether the changes we saw will reverse, but it’s certainly possible, and that’s an encouraging thought.”
