Accelerated Brain Aging Linked to Stress-Related Symptoms in Women

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Research conducted by a team at Ewha Womans University has revealed a significant association between stress-related symptoms and accelerated brain aging in women. The study, published in the journal Neurobiology of Stress, investigated the relationships between emotional and alcohol-use symptoms, stress-related symptoms, and resilience with brain aging in 520 women who experienced stressful life events. The findings suggest a synergistic, more-than-additive association between stress-related symptoms and accelerated brain aging, as well as a potentially buffering association of resilience.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study used a deep learning-based brain age prediction model to calculate individual brain age gap (BAG) in 520 women who experienced stressful life events.
  • Participants were divided into four groups based on the presence of emotional and alcohol-use symptoms: no symptoms (n = 287), emotional symptoms only (n = 93), alcohol-use symptoms only (n = 79), or both symptoms (n = 61).
  • Individuals with both emotional and alcohol-use symptoms exhibited significantly larger BAG than the other groups, with a statistically significant interaction between the two symptom domains (p = 0.017).
  • The presence of emotional and alcohol-use symptoms was positively associated with BAG across the full sample (b = 0.16, p = 0.004).
  • The association between composite symptom scores and BAG was even stronger within individuals with both symptoms (b = 0.34, p < 0.001).
  • The study's findings suggest that stress-related symptoms may be a significant risk factor for accelerated brain aging in women, particularly when combined with other symptoms.

Statistics:

  • 520 women participated in the study, all of whom experienced stressful life events.
  • The study used a deep learning-based brain age prediction model to calculate individual BAG.
  • The results showed that individuals with both emotional and alcohol-use symptoms exhibited a larger BAG (mean BAG = 9.5 years) compared to those with no symptoms (mean BAG = 4.5 years).
  • The association between composite symptom scores and BAG was significant (p < 0.001).
  • The study's findings suggest that stress-related symptoms may be a significant risk factor for accelerated brain aging in women, with a potentially strong association between the two.

Sources:

  • NewsRx. Study Results from Ewha Womans University Broaden Understanding of Stress Neurobiology (Potential vulnerability and resilience to accelerated brain aging in women exposed to stressful life events: insights from the brain age prediction model). Psychology & Psychiatry Journal. November 1, 2025; p 1222.
  • Neurobiology of Stress. (2025;39:100763).
  • Ewha Womans University. (n.d.). Brain Institute.