Study links poverty to faster brain aging

A University College London study found that persistent financial problems accelerate age-related cognitive decline, with effects visible by age 53.

The study tracked 2,759 British adults from the 1946 British cohort study, finding that those with long-term money struggles had more brain shrinkage and deterioration by ages 69-71.

Researchers adjusted for childhood cognition, education, and disadvantage, indicating financial strain independently harms brain health.

Findings were published in the journal Innovation in Aging.