Older veterans who suffered traumatic brain injury earlier in their military careers have a 60 percent greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, according to a new study, published in the medical journal Neurology.
Researchers from U.C. San Francisco and the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center examined the medical records of almost 200,000 veterans who were aged 55 or older, according to USA Today.
Brain injury expert John Corrigan of Ohio State University explained to the Los Angeles Times that researchers linked moderate and severe brain injuries to the development of dementia in later life. But he said even mild brain injuries can cause long-term effects:
“What the field is coming to is that TBI is a chronic condition."
Dr. Doug Brown of the Alzheimer's Society said of the study:
"We need to understand more about the relationship that trauma has to later cognitive decline and dementia if we're going to reduce these effects."
