Girls hit harder than boys by premature brain ageing linked to Covid lockdowns
The Guardian|September 10, 2024
Adolescent girls who lived through Covid lockdowns experienced more rapid brain ageing than boys, according to data that suggests the social restrictions had a disproportionate impact on them.
Ian Sample
Girls hit harder than boys by premature brain ageing linked to Covid lockdowns

MRI scans found evidence of premature brain ageing in both boys and girls, but girls' brains appeared on average 4.2 years older than expected after lockdowns, compared with 1.4 years older for boys.

It is unclear whether the changes have negative consequences, but the findings have raised concerns that they might affect adolescents' mental health and potential to learn.

"We were shocked by these data, that the difference is so dramatic," said Prof Patricia Kuhl, co-director of the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences at the University of Washington, in Seattle.

The researchers gathered MRI scans from 160 nine- to 17-yearolds in 2018 and used them to build a model of how the brain's cortex normally thins during school years.

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