A recent international study involving researchers from the Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Laboratory (C3N) at the Complutense University of Madrid reveals how the exposome—the combined environmental and social factors we are exposed to—critically influences brain health. The research, led by Agustín Ibáñez and featured as a research briefing in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine, analyzed data from 18,701 individuals across 34 countries.
The findings highlight that combinations of various environmental and social exposome factors exhibit nonlinear and synergistic effects that accelerate brain aging. In certain contexts, the impact of these variables is comparable to, or even greater than, that observed in cases of mild cognitive impairment or dementia. This discovery demonstrates that brain aging is not merely an individual biological process but is profoundly shaped by structural inequalities in the environment.
The clinical and methodological significance of this work emphasizes that environmental inequities require multisectoral policy responses. The study concludes that protecting global brain health necessitates addressing socioeconomic and environmental factors through public policies that reduce structural gaps, thereby enabling more effective prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.
Article Reference:
Ibáñez, A., et al. (2026). Environmental inequities and brain aging. Nature Medicine. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04348-z
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