Traumatic Brain Injury and Increased Dementia Risks

A growing body of research is demonstrating a clear link between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the later onset of dementia. Traumatic brain injuries are most commonly caused by motor vehicle collisions; by slip-and-fall accidents; by deprivation of oxygen to the brain; and by violence.

Negligence frequently plays a role in the events that result in a person suffering a traumatic brain injury. A careless individual or company can be held responsible for a TBI, and a personal injury lawyer should be consulted by injured victims for help pursuing a claim for compensation.

The Risks of Brain Injury and Dementia Development

The Alzheimer’s Association website reports on the lasting and indirect consequences of head trauma. When the brain is injured, it can result in a person becoming more susceptible to getting Alzheimer’s.

New research published on Health Day lends further credence to this claim. The researchers conducted a large scale study of 190,000 veterans that spanned a nine year period of time.

The veterans selected for the study had an average age of 68 when the research began. At the time, none had shown signs of dementia or been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other related conditions. A total of 1,229 of the veterans being studied had been diagnosed with a brain injury.

The researchers followed up with the veterans over a period of nine years. They found that 16 percent of the veterans who had been diagnosed with brain injury subsequently developed dementia over the course of the study. By contrast, only 10 percent of the veterans who had not had a brain injury developed dementia. This was a statistically significant difference.

Veterans who had sustained a brain injury and who also had other health problems such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or cerebrovascular disease were at the greatest risk. The researchers accounted for other factors such as high blood pressure, alcohol abuse, diabetes and depression when determining the level of risk and the difference between TBI sufferers and those with no prior injury to the brain.

The researchers indicated that the study could prove an association, but did not prove causation. The study also did not attempt to determine the specific mechanisms that caused the increased risk of dementia among TBI-sufferers. However, there are several possible explanations for why a brain injury would make someone prone to dementia. One possibility is that the brain simply loses its ability to recover from damage as a result of blows to the head. Another theory is that suffering a brain injury can result in amyloid or tau building up in the brain. Both of these different proteins have been linked to the development of Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Unfortunately, a brain injury not only made dementia more likely but also resulted in the dementia developing earlier. The veterans who had a brain injury developed dementia were 78.5 years old on average at the time when the dementia started. For those with no brain injury, the onset of dementia did not occur until they reached an average age of 81.

South Carolina brain injury victims should contact S. Randall Hood McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips, LLC at 803-327-7800 for a free case consultation.