Brain age in mood and psychotic disorders: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Objective</jats:title><jats:p>To evaluate whether accelerated brain aging occurs in individuals with mood or psychotic disorders.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>A systematic review following PRISMA guidelines was conducted. A meta‐analysis was then performed to assess neuroimaging‐derived brain age gap in three independent groups: (1) schizophrenia and first‐episode psychosis, (2) major depressive disorder, and (3) bipolar disorder.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>A total of 18 papers were included. The random‐effects model meta‐analysis showed a significantly increased neuroimaging‐derived brain age gap relative to age‐matched controls for the three major psychiatric disorders, with schizophrenia (3.08; 95%CI [2.32; 3.85]; <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.01) presenting the largest effect, followed by bipolar disorder (1.93; [0.53; 3.34]; <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.01) and major depressive disorder (1.12; [0.41; 1.83]; <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.01). The brain age gap was larger in older compared to younger individuals.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title><jats:p>Individuals with mood and psychotic disorders may undergo a process of accelerated brain aging reflected in patterns captured by neuroimaging data. The brain age gap tends to be more pronounced in older individuals, indicating a possible cumulative biological effect of illness burden.</jats:p></jats:sec>