A new study from Sweden indicates that high blood sugar levels and inflammation can lead to rapid brain aging.
The brains of people with high glucose levels and inflammation may age faster, increasing the risk of developing dementia, according to a study. Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden used an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to analyze brain images of 739 cognitively healthy people in their 70s to explore the biological age of the brain.
They found several risk and health factors that determine the rate at which the brain ages.
The study, reported in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, showed that diabetes, stroke, small vessel disease and inflammation were linked to older-looking brains.
On the other hand, healthy lifestyles that involve regular exercise were linked to younger-looking brains, the study added.
The team performed MRI scans of the participants’ brains and then estimated the age from the resulting brain images using their AI-based algorithm. Additionally, blood samples were taken to measure lipids, glucose, and inflammation; and their cognitive abilities were also tested.
The artificial intelligence tool estimated that the brain age of both sexes was 71 years on average. The researchers then looked at the “brain age gap” by subtracting participants’ estimated biological brain age from their chronological age.
“One conclusion of the study is that factors that negatively affect blood vessels may also be related to older-looking brains,” said lead author Anna Marseglia, a researcher at the Department of Neurobiology, Caring Sciences and Society at the Karolinska Institutet.
This “shows how important it is to keep blood vessels healthy and protect the brain, making sure, for example, that blood glucose levels remain stable,” Marseglia added.
The team’s next goal is to launch a study to understand how women and men may differ in the way they develop resilience.
