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Published Online: 18 October 2023

Association Between Psychosocial Stress and Brain Aging: Results of the Population-Based Cohort Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP)

Publication: The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences

Abstract

Objective:

Recent studies suggest that psychosocial factors can have an impact on brain health. Yet, it is unclear whether psychosocial stress affects aging of the brain. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between psychosocial stress and brain aging.

Methods:

Data from the German population-based cohort Study of Health in Pomerania (N=991; age range 20–78 years) were used to calculate a total psychosocial stress score by combining subscores from five domains: stress related to the living situation, the occupational situation, the social situation, danger experiences, and emotions. Associations with brain aging, indicated by an MRI-derived score quantifying age-related brain atrophy, were estimated by using regression models adjusted for age, gender, education, diabetes, problematic alcohol consumption, smoking, and hypertension.

Results:

The relative risk ratio for advanced brain aging was 1.21 (95% CI=1.04–1.41) for stress related to emotions in fully adjusted models. The interactions between stress related to emotions and mental health symptoms were also significantly associated with advanced brain aging. The association between higher total psychosocial stress and brain aging was not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

These findings highlight that high stress related to emotions is associated with advanced brain aging. To protect brain health in older age, more research is needed to explore the role of emotional distress.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
Go to The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
Pages: 110 - 117
PubMed: 37849313

History

Received: 6 February 2023
Revision received: 3 May 2023
Accepted: 10 July 2023
Published online: 18 October 2023
Published in print: Spring 2024

Keywords

  1. Brain Aging
  2. Brain Health
  3. Emotional Stress
  4. Healthy Aging
  5. Mental Health
  6. Psychological Stress

Authors

Details

Francisca S. Rodriguez, Ph.D. [email protected]
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Rostock/Greifswald, Germany (Rodriguez, Grabe, Hoffmann); Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Grabe, Frenzel, Klinger-König), Institute for Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology (Bülow), and Institute for Community Medicine (Völzke, Hoffmann), University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Hans J. Grabe, M.D.
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Rostock/Greifswald, Germany (Rodriguez, Grabe, Hoffmann); Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Grabe, Frenzel, Klinger-König), Institute for Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology (Bülow), and Institute for Community Medicine (Völzke, Hoffmann), University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Stefan Frenzel, Dipl. Phys.
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Rostock/Greifswald, Germany (Rodriguez, Grabe, Hoffmann); Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Grabe, Frenzel, Klinger-König), Institute for Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology (Bülow), and Institute for Community Medicine (Völzke, Hoffmann), University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Johanna Klinger-König, Dipl. Psych.
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Rostock/Greifswald, Germany (Rodriguez, Grabe, Hoffmann); Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Grabe, Frenzel, Klinger-König), Institute for Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology (Bülow), and Institute for Community Medicine (Völzke, Hoffmann), University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Robin Bülow, M.D.
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Rostock/Greifswald, Germany (Rodriguez, Grabe, Hoffmann); Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Grabe, Frenzel, Klinger-König), Institute for Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology (Bülow), and Institute for Community Medicine (Völzke, Hoffmann), University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Henry Völzke, M.D.
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Rostock/Greifswald, Germany (Rodriguez, Grabe, Hoffmann); Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Grabe, Frenzel, Klinger-König), Institute for Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology (Bülow), and Institute for Community Medicine (Völzke, Hoffmann), University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Wolfgang Hoffmann, M.D., M.P.H.
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Rostock/Greifswald, Germany (Rodriguez, Grabe, Hoffmann); Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Grabe, Frenzel, Klinger-König), Institute for Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology (Bülow), and Institute for Community Medicine (Völzke, Hoffmann), University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.

Notes

Send correspondence to Dr. Rodriguez ([email protected]).

Competing Interests

Prof. Grabe has received travel grants and speaker’s honoraria from Fresenius Medical Care, Janssen Cilag, Neuraxpharm, and Servier, and he has received research funding from Fresenius Medical Care. The other authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

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