Lifestyle, Early-life, and Genetic Health Risk Factors Underlying the Brain Age Gap: A Mega-Analysis Across 3,934 Individuals from the ENIGMA MDD Consortium.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Large-scale studies show that adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) generally have a higher imaging-predicted age relative to their chronological age (i.e., positive brain age gap) compared to controls, though considerable within-group variation exists. This study examines lifestyle, early-life, and genetic health risk factors contributing to the brain age gap. Identifying risk and resilience factors could help protect brain and mental health.

Methods

Using an established model trained on FreeSurfer-derived brain regions (www.photon-ai.com/enigma_brainage), we generated brain age predictions for 1,846 controls and 2,088 individuals with MDD (aged 18-75) from 12 international cohorts. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) were calculated for major depression, C-reactiv

SUBMITTER: Han LKM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12247684 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature