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/RedoftheEvilDead Sep 10 '24

I wonder how much of that is societal or social issues. Like girls being expected to do the chores, housework, and cooking, while boys aren't. Or girls being more likely to be parentified. Or girls being more likely to be sexually abused. All things that definitely cause a lot of stress and prematurely age kids.