- A new study from researchers at the University of Florida examined brain aging in a group of middle-aged and older adults, many of whom had chronic pain.
- ‘Brain age’ refers to how old the brain appears on MRI scans, which the scientists compared to the participants’ actual age.
- The researchers learned that people who had healthier lifestyle behaviors were more likely to have a younger brain age, which was true even in people with chronic pain.
Many people live with chronic pain, and previous research has shown there is a connection between chronic pain and poor brain aging.
A new study took a closer look at this by exploring whether daily habits impact
The researchers found that people who had healthy lifestyle behaviors had a younger brain age. In some cases, participants’ brain age was up to 8 years younger than their actual age.
The findings suggest that while chronic pain was associated with accelerated brain aging in earlier studies, healthy behaviors may help protect the brain as people get older.
The study is published in Brain Communications.
Team Health Accessible
Health & Wellness Editorial Team
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