Peoples who's "brain age" is older than their real age are more likely to die early

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New studies show a link between brain age, and death at a young age. A study by Imperial College London showed that people who had a brain age older than their true age were at a greater risk of an onset of early death. Along with death they also showed to have worse physical and mental health compared to people who's brains were not older than their physical age. To generate the brain age they used a combination of an MRI scan with machine learning algorithms that used the volume of brain tissue to produce the data. Along with a greater risk of early death, other factors included a weaker grip, lowered lung capacity, and slower walking speed. This research aims to help people in the future by making them aware of their brain age, and what that entails. If they are in the category of having a higher brain age than normal they could make alterations to their lifestyle to try and get back on track. At this time there is still more fine tuning needed to be done for complete accuracy to be reached. Funds are also an issue that this research faces. MRI scanners are very expensive and so is all the equipment necessary for the brain age assessment process. James Cole who lead the study speaks about how the process still needs more time and research before it is completely ready, but in the future he hopes it will be more affordable and accessible to individuals. 

In class we discuss how the brain controls many functions and is vital for life. Knowing our brain age is important for overall health. I found the research to be novel in my opinion. The idea of brain age has been talked about before but this research focused on how brain age contributes to health and specifically spotting the risk of dying young. This and future research can address unanswered questions of the past and give more possibilities of why some people pass away earlier than others. 


https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/apr/26/people-whose-brain-age-is-older-than-their-real-age-more-likely-to-die-early

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 1, 2017 at 11:10 PM

    I wonder if there are cheaper and more attainable ways to test brain age. I remember taking brain age tests when I was younger which tested things like math skills, memory, and other tests. I am now wondering how legitimate these tests were if an MRI was needed in order to test brain age in this study. Because the study used a measurement of brain tissue volume to produce this data, how would one with a brain age much different than their actual age make alterations in order to alter their brain tissue volume? Could these altering tasks be as simple as cognitive exercises or much more advanced? In my experience, exercises that were supposed to improve my brain age consisted of practicing math skills and timed memory tests. I wonder if there is science to back these methods up and if they could be effective.I think it would be great if this research was continued in order to find specific ways people could alter their brain age.

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