MRI signature of brain age underlying post-traumatic stress disorder in World Trade Center responders

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: The men and women involved in rescue and recovery operations at the 9/11 World Trade Center (WTC) site have a greater prevalence (23%) of persistent, clinically significant post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Recent structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies demonstrate significant neural differences between WTC responders with and without PTSD. Here, we used brain age, a novel MRI-based data-driven biomarker optimized to detect accelerated structural aging, and examined the impact of PTSD on this process. Using BrainAgeNeXt, a novel convolutional neural network trained and validated on 11,574 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T1- weighted scans, we predicted brain age in WTC responders with PTSD (WTC-PTSD, n = 47) and age/sex matched responders without PTSD (non-PTSD, n = 52). Predicted Age Difference (PAD) was then calculated for each WTC responder by subtracting chronological age from brain age. A positive PAD indicates that the responder’s brain is aging faster than expected for their chronological age. We found that PAD is significantly greater with WTC-PTSD compared to non-PTSD responders ( p < 0.001). Further, we found that WTC exposure duration (months working on site) moderates the association between PTSD and PAD (p=0.0050). Our results suggested that brain age is a valid biomarker to compare aging trajectories in responders with and without PTSD. In particular, PTSD may be a substantial risk factor for accelerated neurodegeneration in this vulnerable and aging population.

Source: Translational Psychiatry

DOI: 10.1038/s41398-025-03769-7

Authors: Azzurra Invernizzi, Francesco La Rosa, Anna Sather, Elza Rechtman, Ismail Nabeel, R. Sean Morrison, Alison C. Pellecchia, Stephanie Santiago-Michels, Evelyn J. Bromet, Roberto G. Lucchini, Benjamin J. Luft, Sean A. Clouston, Erin S. Beck, Cheuk Y. Tang, Megan K. Horton

Institutions: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Stony Brook University, The Graduate Center, CUNY, City University of New York, Florida International University, Stony Brook School

Language: English

Topic: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $5,290

Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Defense, Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences

OpenAlex ID: W4416796386