Untersuchungen ergaben, dass die Gehirne von Teilnehmern des World Trade Centers mit PTSD im Vergleich zu denen ohne PTBS deutlich älter zu sein schienen als ihrem chronologischen Alter. Eine längere Expositionsdauer am Ground Zero verstärkte diesen Effekt zusätzlich.

Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have found that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be linked to accelerated brain aging among World Trade Center (WTC) responders involved in rescue and recovery operations after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The study, published in Translational Psychiatry, is the first to apply a deep learning-based brain age model to this population. 
The team used BrainAgeNeXt, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence model trained on more than 11,000 MRI scans, to estimate each participant’s “brain age.” They found that WTC responders with PTSD had brains that appeared significantly older than their chronological age compared to those without PTSD. Longer exposure duration at Ground Zero further amplified this effect. 

“These findings suggest that PTSD is not only a psychological condition but may also have measurable effects on the brain’s aging process,” said Azzurra Invernizzi, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Environmental Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the study’s first author. “Understanding these changes helps us recognize the neurobiological toll of trauma and can guide early interventions to protect brain health.” 

The results provide new evidence that the long-term impact of PTSD extends beyond mental health, potentially increasing the risk of age-related neurodegenerative conditions. The study offers a new biomarker—brain age—that could be used to monitor neurological health in trauma-exposed populations. The findings also underscore the importance of continued monitoring and support for WTC responders as they age, and highlight the need for policies that integrate mental and neurological health care for trauma-exposed populations. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-025-03769-7