TBI Linked to Increased Dementia Risk Over Several Years

The following is adapted from a recent post on practiceupdate.com:

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with persistently increased risk of dementia, according to a study published online Jan. 30 in PLOS Medicine.

Anna Nordström, M.D., Ph.D., and Peter Nordström, M.D., Ph.D., both from Umeå University in Sweden, tracked dementia and TBI diagnoses among all 3,329,360 individuals in Sweden

The correlation was strongest in the first year after TBI (odds ratio, 3.52) and persisted at >30 years (odds ratio, 1.25). A weaker association with dementia was seen for single mild TBI versus more severe TBI or multiple TBIs (odds ratios, 1.63 versus 2.06 and 2.81, respectively). Among sibling pairs with discordant TBI status, TBI correlated with increased risk of dementia diagnosis (odds ratio, 1.89).

"The risk of dementia diagnosis decreased over time after TBI, but it was still evident >30 years after the trauma," the authors write.