Are brain structure and functional connectivity later in life influenced by midlife psychosocial work stress?

Psychosocial stress at work has been suggested to play a role in the development of cognitive dysfunction, but evidence on the neural substrate (brain structure and function) of psychosocial work stress is scarce.This project aims to examine the effect of middle-life psychosocial work stress on brain structural and functional changes in later life, and to identify protective factors that can counteract the detrimental effect.

Specific questions are: What is the critical level and duration of work stress that increase the probability of alterations in the structure and functional connectivity of the brain?

Which of the COVID-19 crisis related changes in working conditions will have a detrimental effect on brain structure and function?

Can high cognitive reserve counteract the detrimental effect of psychosocial work stress on the brain?The study population will be derived from the ongoing national cohort study: the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH, 2006–2018), which consists of a random sample (n=500, including 100 healthcare workers) of SLOSH participants who were aged 40-55-years in 2006.

The dataset has biennially repeated measures of sociodemographic, lifestyle factors, cognition, and health status, as well as subjective and objective measures of psychosocial work stress over 12-years.

Information regarding working condition changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be collected in 2020 and the sMRI and fMRI scans will be performed in 2021 (participants will be aged 55-70-years).Understanding the role of psychosocial work stress in shaping our brain and identifying the associated protective factors may lead to the development of effective prevention strategies against cognitive dysfunction and brain damage.

The identification of the COVID-19 pandemic induced changes in working conditions that have detrimental effects on brain health will provide additional evidence on the development of prevention strategies.