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There鈥檚 more to intelligence than smarts. A high IQ seems to protect the brain from some of the effects of inflammation, including signs of depression. But the effect is only seen in men聽鈥� perhaps due to hormonal differences.

Inflammation聽鈥� a heightened state of immune activity聽鈥� has increasingly been linked to mental health in recent years. Studies have found that people with depression or schizophrenia seem to have higher levels of inflammatory proteins in their bodies, and anti-inflammatory drugs are currently being trialled for both conditions.

But not everyone with high inflammation goes on to develop a mental-health disorder. 聽at University College London wondered whether intelligence may be one factor that helps protect some people from the effects of inflammation.

Flouri and her colleagues analysed data from more than 9600 people in the UK, aged between 18 and 97. Each person had answered surveys about their mental health, including whether they were in psychological distress. High distress scores indicate that a person is more likely to develop depression, says Flouri.

IQ buffer

Blood samples that had been taken at the time were used to measure levels of inflammation. Each person also completed a battery of cognitive tests, which measured reasoning, memory and problem solving, among other things, to give an IQ score.

After taking account of factors including the volunteers鈥� age, physical health and lifestyles, the team found that men with higher levels of inflammation also showed more signs of psychological distress. This link was disrupted by high levels of intelligence 鈥� men with high inflammation who also had a high IQ seemed to be less likely to show distress.

鈥淭here appears to be some protective effect of having a high IQ,鈥� says Flouri. This may be because people who are more intelligent are more likely to take better care of themselves, and follow a healthy diet and exercise schedule, she suggests.

Gender difference

But why wasn鈥檛 inflammation linked to higher psychological distress in women?聽鈥淚f we believe that inflammation causes depression, the argument here is that the mechanism is not the same for men and women,鈥� says at the University of Cambridge. It is too early to know whether or not that is the case, he adds.

Hormonal differences between men and women might explain聽any difference, says Flouri. Men have higher levels of testosterone, which is known to influence inflammation and stress. Immune system differences may be聽a factor too 鈥� women generally seem more prone to inflammation, and some inflammation-associated disorders, such as autoimmune conditions.

It is also possible that women are more likely to experience types of stress 鈥� abuse, perhaps 鈥� that affect inflammation and mental health in different ways. Early life experiences and genetics probably also have an effect, says Khandaker.

Lower your inflammation

at King鈥檚 College London wonders if lifestyle could explain the observed gender difference 鈥� for example, maybe obesity or physical exercise are more important than IQ when it comes to inflammation in women, he suggests.

But Pariante doesn鈥檛 think the evidence is strong enough yet to accept that there is a difference between men and women when it comes to inflammation and mental health. And because the study looked at distress, inflammation and IQ all at the same time, it is not clear which of these may be the causative factor, he says.

Taking steps to boost aspects of your intelligence, by training memory, for example, might help you avoid the effects of inflammation. 鈥淭he brain is not a muscle, it鈥檚 a lump of fat 鈥� but you can train it like a muscle,鈥� says Khandaker. But the best bet is probably to adopt a generally healthy lifestyle. 鈥淚f we take measures to keep inflammation down, it should have a positive impact on a number of factors,鈥� he says.

Read more: How to extinguish the inflammation epidemic