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Accelerated Brain Aging in Type 1 Diabetes Across Painful and Painless Peripheral Neuropathy: MRI-Based Brain Age
Søren N F Hostrup1,2, Suganthiya S Croosu1, Johan Røikjer2,3,4
1Radiology Research Center, Department of Radiology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark.
Diabetes
|August 11, 2026
Summary
People with type 1 diabetes show accelerated brain aging, with a larger brain age gap (BAG) in those with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). Diabetes duration, not DPN, primarily drives this accelerated aging across the brain.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Endocrinology
- Medical imaging
Background:
- Accelerated brain aging is observed in diabetes.
- The relationship between brain age gap (BAG), diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), and neuropathic pain is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the brain age gap (BAG) in type 1 diabetes.
- To determine if BAG differs across neuropathic phenotypes.
- To assess the relationship between BAG and clinical characteristics, including DPN measures and neuropathic pain.
Main Methods:
- Utilized neuroimaging techniques to calculate the brain age gap (BAG) in individuals with type 1 diabetes.
- Correlated BAG with diabetes duration, DPN severity, and presence of neuropathic pain.
Main Results:
- Participants with type 1 diabetes exhibited a significant BAG of 3.5 years.
- Individuals with DPN showed a substantially larger BAG, ranging from 6 to 7 years.
- Diabetes duration was the primary predictor of BAG, while DPN and neuropathic pain had minimal or no clear contribution.
- Accelerated brain aging was observed broadly across the brain, irrespective of neuropathic complications.
Conclusions:
- Accelerated brain aging is a feature of type 1 diabetes, even in the absence of significant neuropathic complications.
- While DPN is associated with a larger BAG, diabetes duration is the main driver of accelerated brain aging in this population.
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