Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1022975
BY HANNAH STUART RECENTLY GATHERED DATA BUILD ON PRE VIOUS RESE ARCH A SSOCIATING TR AUMATIC BR AIN INJURY ¥TBI¦ WITH DE VELOPMENT OF DEMENTIA. Study Adds to Evidence Linking Traumatic Brain Injury to Dementia Risk IT HA S LONG been posited that experi- encing TBI could have long-term effects, including heightened risk of developing dement ia or A l z hei mer 's d i sea se. A study by resea rchers at the Universit y of Washing ton a nd Aa rhus Universit y in Denma rk conf irms that association while a lso quantif ying risk by the num- ber of TBIs experienced. The resea rch, published in T he Lancet Psychiatr y, examined data from Denmark's national hea lth registries, looking at 2.8 million patients over 36 yea rs. " We did f ind a sig nif ica nt a ssocia- tion bet ween susta ining a traumatic b r a i n i nj u r y a n d t h e s u b s e q u e n t dia g nosis of dementia ," says Jesse R . Fa n n , M D, M PH , lea d aut hor of t he study a nd Professor in the Depa r tment of Psycholog y a nd Behaviora l Sciences at Un iversit y of Wa sh i ng ton School of Medicine. " We found that overa l l, the risk of developing dementia a mong people w it h T BI compa red t o t hose without a histor y of TBI [wa s 24 per- cent higher.]" T he nu mber of TBIs a person ha d e x p e r i e n c e d m a r k e d l y a f f e c t e d risk level: + One TBI was linked to a 22 percent risk increase. + T wo or three TBIs were lin ked to a 33 percent increase. + Four TBIs were linked to a 61 per- cent increase. + Five or more TBIs were linked to a nearly threefold increase. The data expand on previous research, including a 2017 study published in PLOS ONE that suggested individuals with a history of TBI could be signifi cantly more likely to develop dementia. A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE " Now we need to tea se out what is happening in terms of traumatic brain injury, wider-spectrum exposures and how these occur across di™ erent ages, by gender and also by community within societies," Professor Carol Brayne from the Cambridge Institute of Public Health, University of Cambridge, wrote in a com- mentary regarding the research in The Lancet Psychiatry. "The attributable risk of traumatic brain injury to di™ erent exposures and how these change across time needs policy attention, given it is likely that prevention of these need be considered at societal, community and local levels." Knowing more about how TBI occurs may allow for the creation of initiatives to more e™ ectively prevent it. Researchers also called for more work on approaches to treating TBI. "Among those who sustain a TBI, are there other factors that make someone more or less prone to developing demen- tia?" Dr. Fann asks. "And then a follow-up to that would be, among people who have had a TBI, are there interventions — par- ticularly early interventions — that we can provide that may be able to decrease the risk of subsequently developing dementia?" Dr. Fann and his colleagues are con- ducting a multisite study that examines patients with moderate to severe TBI who are being discharged from inpatient rehabi litation. The st udy compa res standard care to an intervention that pro- vides telephone-based case management inªan attempt to improve coordination ofªca re.ª■ M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C E N T R A L P E N N S Y LVA N I A ■ 2 018 1 5