Link found between PTSD and dementia

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NavySeals

A report by Health Day News shared the results of a study conducted by researchers at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston.

According to the study, which was published in the September issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more likely to develop dementia, when compared with their comrades who do not have the disease. The results, according to the researchers, remained significant even after other dementia risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke were factored in.

Dr. Mark Kunik, a psychiatrist and the senior author of the study, said the following in a news release: “Although we cannot at this time determine the cause for this increased risk, it is essential to determine whether the risk of dementia can be reduced by effectively treating PTSD. This could have enormous implications for veterans now returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.”

The study involved an analysis of the data from 10,481 veterans, aged 65 and older, who were examined at least twice the medical center from 1997 to 1999. Outpatient data was gathered until 2008.

Of these patients, 36.4 percent were found to be suffering from PTSD. Of those with PTSD but did not have combat injuries, 11.1 percent developed dementia.

The significance of the results of the study was noted by Dr. Soo Borson of the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, who wrote an editorial to accompany the study. He wrote: “Confirmation of a causal link between PTSD and cognitive impairment in late life would have enormous global implications in a world facing a rising societal burden of dementia, a shrinking workforce to sustain its economies, and the difficulties of containing human violence.”