Human development, inequality, and their associations with brain structure across 29 countries.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The macro-social and environmental conditions in which people live, such as the level of a country's development or inequality, are associated with brain-related disorders. However, the relationship between these systemic environmental factors and the brain remains unclear. We aimed to determine the association between the level of development and inequality of a country and the brain structure of healthy adults.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study pooling brain imaging (T1-based) data from 145 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in 7,962 healthy adults (4,110 women) in 29 different countries. We used a meta-regression approach to relate the brain structure to the country's level of development and inequality.

Results

Higher human development

SUBMITTER: Medel V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12344469 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature