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Long-Term Impact of Military-Relevant Brain Injury Consortium Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium

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Sex, race, and risk of dementia diagnosis after traumatic brain injury among older veterans

Kornblith E, Peltz CB, Xia F, Plassman B, Novakovic-Apopain T, Yaffe K. Sex, race, and risk of dementia diagnosis after traumatic brain injury among older veterans. Neurology. 2020 Sep 29;95(13):e1768-e1775. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000010617. Epub 2020 Sep 4. PMID: 32887780; PMCID: PMC7682824.

Main Question

Do sex and race differences exist in TBI associated dementia risk among older Veterans?

Study Findings

Both male and female veterans with TBI were more than twice as likely to receive a dementia diagnosis compared to those with no TBI. Hispanic and Black Veterans with TBI were almost twice as likely to receive a dementia diagnosis compared to those without TBI. White Veterans with TBI were nearly three times as likely to be diagnosed with dementia compared to no TBI.

Practical Uses

All race groups with TBI had increased risk of dementia compared to those without TBI. White Veterans were at greatest risk for dementia after TBI. Male and female Veterans had similar increased risks of dementia after TBI.

Clinicians may note the increased risk of dementia associated with TBI. Clinicians may further note that the preponderance of dementa risk are associated with health conditions that are modifiable with healthy lifestyle choices.

For more information on aging with TBI and dementia risk

In an effort to provide the latest findings to our consumers as quickly as possible, some of these studies, while fully peer reviewed, have not been presented or published either electronically or in print. Findings are presented for informational purposes only and should not be cited or referenced until they are formally published or presented.

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The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, 839 Chandler Street, Fort Detrick MD 21702-5014 is the awarding and administering acquisition office. This work was supported by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs endorsed by the Department of Defense, through the Psychological Health/Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program Long-Term Impact of Military-Relevant Brain Injury Consortium (LIMBIC) Award/W81XWH-18-PH/TBIRP-LIMBIC under Awards No. W81XWH1920067 and W81XWH-13-2-0095, and by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Awards No. I01 CX002097, I01 CX002096, I01 HX003155, I01 RX003444, I01 RX003443, I01 RX003442, I01 CX001135, I01 CX001246, I01 RX001774, I01 RX 001135, I01 RX 002076, I01 RX 001880, I01 RX 002172, I01 RX 002173, I01 RX 002171, I01 RX 002174, and I01 RX 002170. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions and recommendations are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Department of Defense. / Created by VCU University Relations

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