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This also tends to be the case in children with high ACE scores — they appear much more mature for their age. Good to see research continue to support this.
Very true. We need to find a cumulative model for these processes. It’s so refreshing to see this important research being done in other fields and events
Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have found that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be linked to accelerated brain aging among World Trade Center (WTC) responders involved in rescue and recovery operations after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The study, published in Translational Psychiatry, is the first to apply a deep learning-based brain age model to this population.
The team used BrainAgeNeXt, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence model trained on more than 11,000 MRI scans, to estimate each participant’s “brain age.” They found that WTC responders with PTSD had brains that appeared significantly older than their chronological age compared to those without PTSD. Longer exposure duration at Ground Zero further amplified this effect.
“These findings suggest that PTSD is not only a psychological condition but may also have measurable effects on the brain’s aging process,” said Azzurra Invernizzi, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Environmental Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the study’s first author. “Understanding these changes helps us recognize the neurobiological toll of trauma and can guide early interventions to protect brain health.”
The results provide new evidence that the long-term impact of PTSD extends beyond mental health, potentially increasing the risk of age-related neurodegenerative conditions. The study offers a new biomarker—brain age—that could be used to monitor neurological health in trauma-exposed populations. The findings also underscore the importance of continued monitoring and support for WTC responders as they age, and highlight the need for policies that integrate mental and neurological health care for trauma-exposed populations.
The PTSD link is interesting, but I’d really want to see how well they separated PTSD from toxic exposure, sleep disruption, and general health. “Brain age” models mostly track vascular/white matter wear, which chronic stress + inflammation + pollutants can all accelerate.
Stress definitely ages the body/mind. It's potentially one of the reasons old celebrities looked 10-20 years older than they were, because of world wars (on top of all the smoke/sun damage)
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This also tends to be the case in children with high ACE scores — they appear much more mature for their age. Good to see research continue to support this.
Very true. We need to find a cumulative model for these processes. It’s so refreshing to see this important research being done in other fields and events
Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have found that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be linked to accelerated brain aging among World Trade Center (WTC) responders involved in rescue and recovery operations after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The study, published in Translational Psychiatry, is the first to apply a deep learning-based brain age model to this population. The team used BrainAgeNeXt, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence model trained on more than 11,000 MRI scans, to estimate each participant’s “brain age.” They found that WTC responders with PTSD had brains that appeared significantly older than their chronological age compared to those without PTSD. Longer exposure duration at Ground Zero further amplified this effect.
“These findings suggest that PTSD is not only a psychological condition but may also have measurable effects on the brain’s aging process,” said Azzurra Invernizzi, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Environmental Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the study’s first author. “Understanding these changes helps us recognize the neurobiological toll of trauma and can guide early interventions to protect brain health.”
The results provide new evidence that the long-term impact of PTSD extends beyond mental health, potentially increasing the risk of age-related neurodegenerative conditions. The study offers a new biomarker—brain age—that could be used to monitor neurological health in trauma-exposed populations. The findings also underscore the importance of continued monitoring and support for WTC responders as they age, and highlight the need for policies that integrate mental and neurological health care for trauma-exposed populations.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-025-03769-7
The PTSD link is interesting, but I’d really want to see how well they separated PTSD from toxic exposure, sleep disruption, and general health. “Brain age” models mostly track vascular/white matter wear, which chronic stress + inflammation + pollutants can all accelerate.
Stress definitely ages the body/mind. It's potentially one of the reasons old celebrities looked 10-20 years older than they were, because of world wars (on top of all the smoke/sun damage)
I lost my last 911 responder two years ago. They all died of cancer or respiratory disease.