There’s not denying that given the close vascular relationship between the heart and the brain, what happens to the heart will no doubt affect the brain as well. Published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, researchers found that the poor cardiovascular health at age 36 was linked to poor brain health later in life.

For the study, researchers drew upon members of Insight 46 study. Insight 46 is a study funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK and its subjects were recruited from the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD) 1946 British Birth Cohort where participants were followed throughout there lives, giving researchers a glimpse of the many factors that plat into health across a person’s course of life.

The researchers then applied an MRI-based machine learning model where brain age was estimated based on MRI scans. Higher brain age was associated with poorer scores on cognitive tests and and increased brain atrophy.

Their participants while between the ages of 69 to 72, had estimated brain ages of 46 to 93. Reviewing other data from the participants’ life course, they found that those who had poor brain health had worse cardiovascular health age 36 or 69.

The study adds to the already plethora of evidence that midlife health is a major contributing factor to health in one’s later years. Therefore, our ideas that “it’s ok because you’re young” or that “aging” is a special geriatric medical field are ignorant ways to look at life. The fact of the matter is that each stage of life compounds on to another. Therefore, take care of your health now and don’t wait till you’re older to do it because by then, you won’t be able to and the damage has been done.

AZ Wagen et al. Life course, genetic, and neuropathological associations with brain age in the British 1946 birth cohort: a population-based study. The Lancet Healthy Longevity (2022). DOI: 10.1016/S2666-7568(22)00167-2