Knee pain may be associated with accelerated brain aging, according to a study published this week.
Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) is one of the leading causes of disability, affecting more than 40% of the world’s population and impacting patients’ cognitive function. Although the exact mechanism is not fully understood, thus hindering prevention and treatment efforts, research indicates that inflammatory markers associated with brain aging are higher in patients with CMP, suggesting a link between brain aging and osteoarthritis.
In a study published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Mental Health, cited by 360medical.ro, a group of scientists from China and the United States discovered that people who suffer from chronic musculoskeletal pain may face a greater risk of aging the brain.
Knee pain associated with accelerated brain aging
With this finding in mind, researchers led by Professor TU Yiheng from the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with international experts, explored the profiles of brain aging patterns and their underlying mechanisms in different types of CMP.
Their study highlights the association between chronic knee pain, particularly due to osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, and accelerated brain aging.
Using MRI data from more than 9,000 people, the researchers developed a model to compare brain age with chronological age.
Increased risk of dementia?
They found that people with knee osteoarthritis, who were identified from both UK Biobank and additional local community replication datasets, experienced faster brain aging than healthy people.
In addition, brain regions responsible for human cognitive function, such as the hippocampus, were found to be associated with such accelerated brain aging.
“Not only have we revealed the specificity of accelerated brain aging in patients with knee osteoarthritis, but importantly we have also provided longitudinal evidence suggesting the ability of our brain aging marker to predict future memory decline and risk increased by dementia”, said Prof. TU, corresponding author of the study.
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