Neuroimaging-derived brain age as a new promising biomarker in mental disorders.
Authors
Affiliations (7)
Affiliations (7)
- Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Institute of Radiology and Medical Imaging, Psychoradiology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; College of Medical Technology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
- Department of Psychiatry, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
- Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Institute of Radiology and Medical Imaging, Psychoradiology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; College of Medical Technology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
- Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Institute of Radiology and Medical Imaging, Psychoradiology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
- MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
- Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Institute of Radiology and Medical Imaging, Psychoradiology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Xiamen Key Laboratory of Psychoradiology and Neuromodulation, Department of Radiology, West China Xiamen Hospital of Sichuan University, Xiamen, Fujian, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Institute of Radiology and Medical Imaging, Psychoradiology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; College of Medical Technology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Research Unit of Psychoradiology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; National Clinical Research Center for Geriatrics, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
Abstract
Mental disorders are frequently associated with accelerated brain aging, yet the diagnostic and classificatory utility of brain age remains uncertain. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of brain age across multiple mental disorders and to identify the underlying neural mechanisms. Articles published through November 2025 were retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase, resulting in 68 eligible studies covering DSM-5 diagnostic categories. We compared brain age across disorders and extracted key contributing brain regions. The largest effect was observed in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (Cohen's d = 3.49, 95% CI 2.62-4.37, p < 0.05), followed by neurocognitive disorders (Cohen's d = 3.27, 95% CI 2.31-4.24, p < 0.05), mood disorders (Cohen's d = 1.41, 95% CI 0.69-2.14, p < 0.05), and neurodevelopmental disorders (mean = 0.60). Analysis of covariance indicated a significant effect of diagnostic category on brain age (F = 5.13, p = 0.004), and Bonferroni tests further confirmed intergroup differences (p < 0.05). The central executive, default mode, and salience networks, emerged as a common system implicated across disorders, although the relative contributions differed by diagnosis. Overall, these findings suggest that brain age may serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis and classification of mental disorders.