Brain age predicts mortality

Age-associated disease and disability are placing a growing burden on society. However, ageing does not affect people uniformly. Hence, markers of the underlying biological ageing process are needed to help identify people at increased risk of age-associated physical and cognitive impairments and ultimately, death. Here, we present such a biomarker, 'brain-predicted age', derived using structural neuroimaging. Brain-predicted age was calculated using machine-learning analysis, trained on neuroimaging data from a large healthy reference sample (N=2001), then tested in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (N=669), to determine relationships with age-associated functional measures and mortality. Having a brain-predicted…

• SF
  Scottish Funding Council
• AU
  Age UK

  Awards: MR/M013111/1, LBC1936, MR/K026992/1
• UO
  University of Edinburgh

  Award: MR/K026992/1
• CF
  Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology

  Award: MR/K026992/1
• MR
  Medical Research Council

  Awards: MR/K026992/1, MR/M013111/1, MR/K026992/1, MR/M013111, 1078901, MR/M013111/1
• BA
  Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

  Awards: MR/K026992/1, BB/F019394/1, LBC1936
• NH
  National Health and Medical Research Council

  Awards: 1078901, 613608