Where you live may play a bigger role in your brain health than you think.
A new study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine found that people living in socially and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods may be at higher risk for dementia.
The research was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Behavior & Socioeconomics of Aging.
The study shows that neighborhood conditions—like pollution, poverty, and lack of community resources—are connected to measurable differences in brain structure and function. These changes may increase the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
The research team studied data from 679 adults enrolled in the Healthy Brain Study at the Wake Forest Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Each person had a brain scan and blood tests to look for early signs of brain decline.
The researchers then compared this data with three national tools that rate neighborhood health by zip code: the Area Deprivation Index, Social Vulnerability Index, and Environmental Justice Index.
These tools measure things like poverty levels, access to health care, housing quality, and environmental risks like pollution. People living in areas with higher scores on these indexes—meaning worse living conditions—were more likely to show signs of brain aging and early dementia.
In particular, the researchers saw that people in these areas had thinner outer brain layers, damage in white matter that suggests vascular disease, and poorer blood flow in the brain. All of these brain changes are known risk factors for memory loss and cognitive problems.
The study found that these effects were especially strong in Black participants, who often lived in neighborhoods with the highest levels of disadvantage. This highlights the connection between social inequalities and health disparities.
“This study is consistent with other research showing that the state of the social environment in which people live can shape their brain health in profound ways,” said Dr. Timothy Hughes, senior author and professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest.
Sudarshan Krishnamurthy, lead author and a sixth-year M.D.-Ph.D. student, said the findings show that things like clean air, safe housing, access to nutritious food, and economic opportunity may directly impact how the brain ages.
This research adds to growing evidence that social and environmental factors are not just background issues, but central to understanding and preventing dementia. It also raises important questions for health policy.
If we want to improve brain health for all people, we must do more than offer individual treatments—we need to fix the larger systems and structures that create health risks in entire communities.
In short, your zip code could be just as important as your genetic code when it comes to protecting your brain.
If you care about dementia, please read studies about Dizziness upon standing may be linked to dementia risk and findings of Scientists find the ties between high blood pressure and dementia.
For more about dementia, please read studies about Early heart rhythm problem linked to higher dementia risk and findings of Green leafy vegetables may help reduce Alzheimer’s risk.
The study is published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia Behavior & Socioeconomics of Aging.
Copyright © 2025 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
