NEUROIMAGING research suggests brain age could become a powerful biomarker for diagnosing mental disorders, with clear differences in brain age between conditions, raising hopes that objective biological measures may soon enhance psychiatric assessment and improve diagnostic accuracy in routine clinical care today now.
Brain Age as Diagnostic Tool
Brain age reflects how old the brain appears on neuroimaging compared with chronological age. Interest in brain age has grown because many psychiatric conditions show accelerated ageing, suggesting measurable biological vulnerability. Traditional psychiatric diagnosis relies on symptoms, which often overlap and evolve. Objective biomarkers such as brain age could therefore strengthen classification and support earlier intervention.
Researchers have linked altered brain age to dysfunction in major neural networks involved in cognition and emotional regulation. This raises the possibility that measuring brain age could help clinicians identify disorder specific patterns, improve risk prediction, and guide personalised treatment strategies in mental health services.
Methods and Results: Brain Age Differences Quantified
This systematic review and meta-analysis included 68 studies examining brain age across DSM5 disorders. Patients with mental disorders consistently showed higher brain age than healthy controls. The largest effect was observed in schizophrenia spectrum disorders with Cohen’s d = 3.49, 95 % CI 2.62 to 4.37, p < 0.05, followed by neurocognitive disorders with Cohen’s d = 3.27, 95 % CI 2.31 to 4.24, p < 0.05, and mood disorders with Cohen’s d = 1.41, 95 % CI 0.69 to 2.14, p < 0.05. Neurodevelopmental disorders showed a smaller mean increase of 0.60. Analysis confirmed significant differences with F = 5.13, p = 0.004.
Clinical Implications and Future Directions for Brain Age
These findings indicate that brain age could complement clinical assessment and improve diagnostic confidence. Incorporating brain age into psychiatric evaluation may help detect illness earlier and enable more precise, individualised care. Researchers emphasise that longitudinal studies are essential to confirm reliability and understand how brain age changes with treatment and disease progression. Standardised imaging protocols and integration into clinical workflows will also be required. If validated, brain age could support prognosis, monitor therapeutic response, and refine classification systems.
Reference
Zhao R et al. Neuroimaging-derived brain age as a new promising biomarker in mental disorders. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 2026;106606.
