Money problems can affect far more than a person’s bank account. A major new study suggests that years of financial hardship may also speed up the aging of the brain and increase the risk of memory and thinking problems later in life.
The findings add to growing evidence that social and economic conditions can have lasting effects on health.
The study was led by researchers at University College London and published in the journal Innovation in Aging.
The team analyzed information collected over several decades from 2,759 people who took part in the MRC National Survey of Health and Development, also known as the 1946 British birth cohort study. This is the world’s longest continuously running birth cohort study, following the same people from birth into old age.
The researchers wanted to know whether financial struggles across adult life affected brain health. Instead of looking at only one point in time, they examined people’s income and financial difficulties over many years. This allowed them to study the long-term effects of repeated hardship rather than short-term setbacks.
Participants reported their household income at ages 26, 43, and 53. People were considered to have persistent low income if they were in the lowest 20 percent of income earners at least twice. Financial hardship was also measured by asking whether people found it difficult to manage on their income or struggled to pay bills between ages 36 and 53.
By age 53, people who had experienced long-term low income or ongoing financial hardship performed worse on tests measuring memory and thinking speed. These differences remained even after researchers considered childhood intelligence, education, and early-life disadvantage. This suggests that financial stress itself may play an important role.
A smaller group of participants also had MRI brain scans between the ages of 69 and 71. Those who had lived with persistent low income showed more signs of brain shrinkage and other changes linked with poorer brain health. Brain shrinkage is commonly seen during aging but becomes more severe in many forms of dementia.
The effects were strongest in men, people who grew up in disadvantaged families, and those carrying the APOE-e4 gene, which increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers believe several factors may explain these differences, including lifelong stress and unhealthy habits that are more common among people facing financial hardship.
Long-term stress can raise inflammation throughout the body, and inflammation has been linked with faster brain aging. Constantly worrying about paying bills may also place extra demands on the brain, leaving fewer mental resources for learning, planning, and remembering information.
The researchers also noticed that people who already had lower cognitive scores at age 53 showed a slower decline afterward. They believe this may simply reflect that much of the decline had already happened earlier in life rather than meaning their brains were aging more slowly.
The findings do not prove that financial hardship directly causes dementia, but they strongly suggest that reducing long-term poverty could help protect brain health. Supporting people through education, employment, and financial assistance may therefore have benefits that extend well beyond economic wellbeing.
Overall, the study provides convincing evidence that years of financial stress are linked with poorer cognitive health, although other unmeasured factors may also contribute. Future studies in different countries will help confirm these results and guide public health policies.
If you care about dementia, please read studies about Vitamin B9 deficiency linked to higher dementia risk, and flavonoid-rich foods could help prevent dementia.
For more health information, please see recent studies that cranberries could help boost memory, and how alcohol, coffee and tea intake influence cognitive decline.
Source: University College London.
