Adults who experienced persistent financial hardship or low income throughout their lives showed poorer cognitive performance and signs of accelerated brain aging later in life, according to a new study by researchers at University College London. The findings, published in a press release, suggest a link between chronic poverty and cognitive decline.
The study examined 2,759 participants from the U.K. born in 1946, utilizing data from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development. Participants who reported continuous low income performed worse on cognitive tests assessing verbal memory and processing speed. Furthermore, MRI scans revealed poorer brain health in this group, indicated by markers of aging such as brain shrinkage and enlarged ventricles.
"The study clearly demonstrates that the accumulation of poverty is linked to cognitive decline," said study author Dr. Jacques Wels. "We used different measures of lifecourse financial adversity and different measures of cognitive decline and they all show the same results, which makes the results solid."
The associations were particularly pronounced among men, individuals with disadvantaged childhoods, and carriers of the APOE-ε4 genetic variant, which is known to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
"The study shows that while cognitive decline is both a matter of genetic risks and individual behaviors, it is also affected by the experiences we live over our lives that we don’t always have control on," Wels added.
Researchers suggested that chronic financial adversity over decades, as opposed to short-term financial difficulties, is associated with faster cognitive aging. This could be attributed to the effects of chronic stress, such as inflammation, or the increased cognitive load associated with persistent financial worry.
The study acknowledged its limitations, including its observational design, which cannot establish a causal relationship between financial stress and cognitive effects. The authors also noted that the life course experiences of the participants were shaped by the historical context in which they lived. For instance, stronger effects observed in men might reflect societal expectations of men as primary breadwinners in past generations.
While reducing long-term poverty could potentially benefit brain health, the researchers emphasized the need for further studies to determine if improving financial circumstances directly mitigates the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.