Persistent money troubles could accelerate brain ageing and raise the risk of dementia, particularly for men, those from disadvantaged childhoods and people with a genetic susceptibility to Alzheimer’s, a new study has found.
Researchers at University College London analysed data from 2,759 people in the 1946 British cohort study, tracking household income at ages 26, 43 and 53. Those in the bottom 20% at least twice – about one in six participants – were classed as having persistent low income. Hardship also included struggling to manage on their income or having trouble paying bills.
“Persistent financial hardship linked to faster brain ageing and higher dementia risk, UCL study finds.”
The study, published in the journal Innovations in Aging, found that people who experienced sustained money struggles performed worse on cognitive tests at 53. Brain scans later in life, at ages 69 to 71, showed worse brain health among those with lower incomes. The effect was strongest in men, individuals from poorer backgrounds and carriers of a genetic variant that increases Alzheimer’s risk.
Dr Jacques Wels, of UCL’s unit for lifelong health and ageing, said: “Most studies on cognitive ageing look at financial hardship at only a single point in time. Our study using several decades of data allows us to see that it is the accumulation of hardship over many years that is linked to the worst cognitive health outcomes, rather than occasional episodes of adversity.”
Researchers suspect financial stress may chronically strain the brain’s cognitive processing systems, consuming “bandwidth” needed for attention and decision-making. The study’s authors highlighted the current cost-of-living crisis, where “a record number of households are reporting financial adversity”, and stressed the importance of supporting vulnerable households.
Professor Praveetha Patalay, also of UCL, said: “Our findings suggest that supporting people facing financial hardship and reducing chronic poverty could also help prevent cognitive decline and dementia cases in the future.”
Reacting to the findings, Dr Richard Oakley, associate director at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “This study is a reminder that dementia is not just a health issue, but a social and economic one too. It adds to growing evidence that the factors shaping our brain health begin long before any symptoms of dementia appear.”
With more than 980,000 people living with dementia in the UK and numbers projected to exceed 1.4 million by 2040, the research underscores how tackling poverty could be a crucial lever in curbing the dementia epidemic.