The COVID pandemic accelerated brain aging in people, even if they were not infected.

The COVID-19 pandemic radically changed the lives of millions of people around the world. Whether it was the damage to one's own health, the loss of loved ones , the economic impact, or even simply the restrictions authorities imposed on numerous aspects of public life, it is undeniable that few historical events have shaken our societies to such an extent.

We're still documenting its consequences. For example, a new article published in the scientific journal Nature Communications has found that the experience may have accelerated brain aging in people who experienced it, even if they were never infected.

More aging in disadvantaged men

Specifically, this is what they concluded after taking longitudinal neuroimaging data collected in the UK Biobank database from no fewer than 996 healthy participants, including two MRI scans in each case (one before the pandemic and one after).

Using predictive models of brain age and an analysis of multiple health markers, they found that the pandemic caused a shift in brain aging markers corresponding to up to five months in biological age in these individuals.

This apparent accelerated brain aging was more pronounced in men and people of lower sociodemographic status, but existed regardless of a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Only those infected had worse cognitive performance

While this may be concerning, the reality is somewhat more complex. In particular, it was found that this aging was only associated with worse cognitive performance in participants who had been infected with the virus at some point, leading the authors to theorize that the effect could be asymptomatic in those who have not suffered from the disease and could even be reversed over time.

Regardless, these results do underscore the impact that the pandemic experience had on people's brain health. They also highlight how these negative effects disproportionately affect the most disadvantaged , suggesting a need to address economic, sociocultural, and healthcare access inequalities.

References

Mohammadi-Nejad, AR., Craig, M., Cox, E.F. et al. Accelerated brain aging during the COVID-19 pandemic . Nature Communications (2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61033-4

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