Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Jan;145(1):42-55.
doi: 10.1111/acps.13371. Epub 2021 Sep 21.

Brain age in mood and psychotic disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Pedro L Ballester  1 , Maria T Romano  2 , Taiane de Azevedo Cardoso  3 , Stefanie Hassel  4   5 , Stephen C Strother  6   7 , Sidney H Kennedy  8   9 , Benicio N Frey  3   10
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Brain age in mood and psychotic disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Pedro L Ballester et al. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate whether accelerated brain aging occurs in individuals with mood or psychotic disorders.

Methods: A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines was conducted. A meta-analysis was then performed to assess neuroimaging-derived brain age gap in three independent groups: (1) schizophrenia and first-episode psychosis, (2) major depressive disorder, and (3) bipolar disorder.

Results: A total of 18 papers were included. The random-effects model meta-analysis showed a significantly increased neuroimaging-derived brain age gap relative to age-matched controls for the three major psychiatric disorders, with schizophrenia (3.08; 95%CI [2.32; 3.85]; p < 0.01) presenting the largest effect, followed by bipolar disorder (1.93; [0.53; 3.34]; p < 0.01) and major depressive disorder (1.12; [0.41; 1.83]; p < 0.01). The brain age gap was larger in older compared to younger individuals.

Conclusion: Individuals with mood and psychotic disorders may undergo a process of accelerated brain aging reflected in patterns captured by neuroimaging data. The brain age gap tends to be more pronounced in older individuals, indicating a possible cumulative biological effect of illness burden.

Keywords: accelerated brain aging; bipolar disorder; major depressive disorder; meta-analysis; schizophrenia.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Lim K-L, Jacobs P, Ohinmaa A, Schopflocher D, Dewa CS. A new population-based measure of the economic burden of mental illness in Canada. Chronic Dis Can. 2008;28:92-98.
    1. McDonald KC, Bulloch AGM, Duffy A, et al. Prevalence of bipolar I and II disorder in Canada. Can J Psychiatry. 2015;60:151-156.
    1. Frey BN, Vigod S, de Azevedo CT, et al. The Early Burden of Disability in Individuals With Mood and Other Common Mental Disorders in Ontario, Canada. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3:e2020213.
    1. De Witte P, Pinto E, Ansseau M, Verbanck P. Alcohol and withdrawal: from animal research to clinical issues. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2003;27:189-197.
    1. Folsom DP, Lebowitz BD, Lindamer LA, Palmer BW, Patterson TL, Jeste DV. Schizophrenia in late life: emerging issues. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2006;8:45-52.

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding