Social inequality affects brain structure and volume:
This research reveals a direct link between these structural inequalities, such as socioeconomic disparities as measured by a national index (GINI), and changes in brain structure and connectivity associated with aging and dementia. This work also highlights the way in which social inequalities are biologically anchored….
The study examines the association between structural inequality (national and state-level Gini indices) and brain volume and connectivity in 2,135 healthy participants with Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal degeneration , residing in Latin America and the United States. The analysis reveals that:
- higher levels of social inequality (lower socioeconomic class) are linked to reduced brain volume and disrupted connectivity, particularly in posterior temporal and cerebellar regions essential for cognitive functions;
- these effects are more pronounced in regions of the world with high “macro” levels of socioeconomic stress, such as, for example, Latin America;
- this reduction in brain volume and connectivity indicates an increased risk of dementia and is associated with faster progression and severity of the disease;
- in other words, these social inequalities therefore seem to exacerbate neurodegeneration in aging populations;
- However, milder effects are observed in frontotemporal degeneration, which supports the thesis of a predominant genetic impact in frontotemporal dementia;
- these different associations are even worth taking into account individual factors such as education, age, gender and cognitive abilities, highlighting the independent role of macro level factors in the formation and maintenance of brain health.
What implications? These findings highlight the urgency of integrating not only individual social determinants of health into research on brain and cognitive health, including exposure factors at the macro level (economic level at the scale of a country or region). ‘a region of the world).
Brain health equity involves macro- and socioeconomic-level equity. Thus, alleviating poverty, but also pollution and climate risk, can help to mitigate accelerated brain aging in more disadvantaged communities.
