Brain-predicted age difference is associated with cognitive processing in later-life

Brain age is a neuroimaging-based biomarker of aging. This study examined whether the difference between brain age and chronological age (brain-PAD) is associated with cognitive function at baseline and longitudinally. Participants were relatively healthy, predominantly white community-dwelling older adults (n = 531, aged ≥70 years), with high educational attainment (61% ≥12 years) and socioeconomic status (59% ≥75th percentile). Brain age was estimated from T1-weighted magnetic resonance images using an algorithm by Cole et al., 2018. After controlling for age, gender, education, depression and body mass index, brain-PAD was negatively associated with psychomotor speed (Symbol Digit Modalities Test) at baseline (Bonferroni p < 0.006), but was not associated with baseline verbal fluency (Controlled Oral Word Association Test), delayed recall (Hopkins Learning Test Revised), or general cognitive status (Mini-Mental State Examination). Baseline brain-PAD was not associated with 3-year change in cognition (Bonferroni p > 0.006). These findings indicate that even in relatively healthy older people, accelerated brain aging is associated with worse psychomotor speed, but future longitudinal research into changes in brain-PAD is needed.