The Pandemic Appears to Have Accelerated Brain Aging, Even in People Who Never Got Covid
July 30, 2025

(Wired) – Stress, isolation, and uncertainty appear to have caused the brain to age quicker for those who lived through the crisis.
More than five years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are still discovering the after-effects of not only the virus but also the prolonged period of stress, isolation, loss, and uncertainty that the pandemic caused. A new scientific study, published this month in Nature Communications, has revealed that the pandemic may have accelerated brain aging in people even if they were never infected with the coronavirus.
Researchers at the University of Nottingham in the UK analyzed brain images captured before and after the onset of the health crisis. The scientists found that the brains of those who lived through the pandemic appeared to age faster over its duration compared to those whose brains were only scanned prior to March 2020. (Read More)