Persistent Financial Hardship Linked to Faster Cognitive Decline, UCL Study Finds

Persistent financial hardship may speed up age-related cognitive decline, according to new research led by University College London (UCL), published in the journal Innovation in Aging.

The study analysed information from 2,759 people in the UK who completed questionnaires across much of their lives through the MRC National Survey of Health and Development, also known as the 1946 British cohort study — the world's longest continuously running birth cohort study.

Researchers found that people who faced ongoing financial difficulties or persistently low income during early and middle adulthood tended to perform worse on cognitive tests by age 53. Among a subgroup who later underwent brain scans, persistent low income was also associated with poorer brain health, including more brain shrinkage, in later life, at ages 69 to 71. These associations remained after accounting for childhood cognitive ability, education level and childhood disadvantage.

The relationship between financial adversity and poorer brain health later in life appeared especially strong among men, people who had experienced childhood disadvantage, and those who carried APOE-ε4, a genetic variant associated with increased Alzheimer's risk. Corresponding author Dr. Jacques Wels of UCL's Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing said the accumulation of hardship over many years, rather than occasional episodes, is linked to the worst cognitive health outcomes.

Participants reported household income at ages 26, 43 and 53, and were classified as having persistent low income if they fell within the bottom 20% of the group at least twice; about 16% of participants met this definition. Senior author Professor Praveetha Patalay said supporting people facing financial hardship and reducing chronic poverty could also help prevent cognitive decline and dementia cases in the future.