r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Sep 09 '24

Neuroscience Covid lockdowns prematurely aged girls’ brains more than boys’, study finds. MRI scans found girls’ brains appeared 4.2 years older than expected after lockdowns, compared with 1.4 years for boys.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/sep/09/covid-lockdowns-prematurely-aged-girls-brains-more-than-boys-study-finds
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u/sculpted_reach Sep 09 '24

Sex was the only variable they distinguished upon? Their hypothesis was that lack of social interaction caused that, but no variable for measuring of they had varying levels of social interaction were done.

I would want to know if some video face time usage made a difference or household size... or if their families even followed lockdown guidelines...

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u/CoastHealthy9276 Sep 10 '24

I'd like to know if it was lockdowns or the anxiety of a killer virus

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u/sculpted_reach Sep 10 '24

That's a really good question. Testing kids who were kept indoors after injury could be a decent comparison. Or children in any conflict zones as a comparitve study. Sadly, there are plenty...