DistantNews
Support us
🇸🇪 Sweden /Health & Science

Metabolic syndrome significantly ages the brain, study finds

From Svenska Dagbladet · () Swedish

Translated from Swedish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Metabolic syndrome significantly ages the brain, with individuals having five risk factors showing brains 2.3 years older than their chronological age.
  • High blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess abdominal fat, low HDL cholesterol, and high triglycerides are key risk factors.
  • Addressing even one of these factors can slow premature brain aging and potentially reduce the risk of dementia.

Individuals with metabolic syndrome exhibit brains that are considerably older than their actual age, according to a new study involving researchers from the Karolinska Institute. The findings were described as "striking" by lead researcher Abigail Dove, a postdoctoral researcher at the Aging Research Center.

The results were striking.

— Abigail DoveAbigail Dove, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute, described the study's findings on the link between metabolic syndrome and brain aging.

Metabolic syndrome is characterized by the presence of at least three out of five risk factors: excessive abdominal fat, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, high levels of triglycerides (a type of blood fat), and low levels of HDL cholesterol. Approximately 25% of adults are affected by this condition. Dove explained that even slightly elevated levels of these factors can contribute to the syndrome, meaning full-blown diabetes is not required for accelerated brain aging.

It is enough to have slightly elevated values, for example, when it comes to blood sugar, for it to contribute to the syndrome. So, you do not need to have fully developed diabetes for it to accelerate brain aging.

— Abigail DoveAbigail Dove explained how even moderate levels of risk factors can contribute to metabolic syndrome and its impact on brain aging.

The study analyzed brain scans and blood samples from over 27,000 individuals. It found that those with three risk factors had brains approximately one year older than their chronological age. This age difference increased to 1.7 years with four factors and 2.3 years with all five. Each individual risk factor was also linked to premature brain aging.

We believe this contributes to chronic inflammation that drives brain aging. In the long term, it can increase the risk of dementia.

— Abigail DoveAbigail Dove discussed the suspected mechanism behind metabolic syndrome's effect on the brain, linking it to inflammation and dementia risk.

Researchers hypothesize that chronic inflammation plays a role in accelerating brain aging, potentially increasing the risk of dementia. This inflammation is suspected to damage blood vessels and trigger harmful proteins in the brain. Dove emphasized that removing even a single risk factor can help slow down premature brain aging, and reducing more factors yields greater benefits for brain health.

Just by removing just one of these factors can slow down the brain's premature aging. The more you remove, the better, but everything is of value for brain health.

— Abigail DoveAbigail Dove highlighted the positive impact of addressing even single risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome on brain health.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Svenska Dagbladet in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog