A new study by Irish scientists involved more than two thousand people from the United States and Latin America. The sample included both healthy individuals and patients with Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. The researchers sought to determine how social status impacts brain health.
The results were disappointing. For example, volunteers with the most severe socioeconomic inequality showed reduced brain volume and decreased neural connections, particularly in the cerebellum, temporal lobe, and posterior lobes, EurekAlert reports . These signs are associated with higher risks of dementia.
Notably, these effects were more pronounced in people from Latin American countries. On the other hand, people from these countries had the most severe dementia symptoms. "Changes in the brain due to social inequality could exacerbate neurodegeneration," the authors stated.
However, the most surprising thing was the independence of the findings from individual characteristics. The relationship remained even after accounting for individual factors such as age, gender, education level, and cognitive ability.
"This highlights the independent role of macro-level factors in shaping brain health and demonstrates the need for more vigorous population screening when assessing the risk of Alzheimer's disease," concluded study author Augustina Legas.
Similar results were previously found in another study, which found that poverty and stress alter children's brain structure.
