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Traumatic mind accidents (TBI) in older adults are related to new circumstances of dementia, use of residence care providers, and admission to long-term care, in response to new analysis revealed within the Canadian Medical Affiliation Journal.
“One of the most common reasons for TBI in older adulthood is sustaining a fall, which is often preventable,” write Dr. Yu Qing Huang, ICES Ph.D. scholar, and Dr. Jennifer Watt, affiliate professor and ICES scientist, each geriatricians at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Well being, and affiliated with the College of Toronto, together with their co-authors. “By targeting fall-related TBIs, we can potentially reduce TBI-associated dementia in this population.”
Traumatic mind accidents are attributable to a direct affect to the top or oblique power (e.g., whiplash) with one of many following: lack of consciousness, posttraumatic amnesia, disorientation, or neurological indicators like slurred speech, muscle weak point, or imaginative and prescient adjustments. Greater than 50% of TBIs in older adults consequence from falls, and a million individuals in Canada over age 65 will expertise a TBI of their lifetime.
To know the affect of late-life TBI and the affiliation with new circumstances of dementia and associated care wants, researchers analyzed information on greater than 260,000 adults aged 65 years or older with and with out TBI between April 2004 and March 2020. The research adopted individuals till a prognosis of dementia, to March 2021, or dying.
New TBI was related to a 69% elevated threat of subsequent dementia within the first 5 years, a 56% elevated threat past 5 years, and extra days of publicly funded residence care (87 days in contrast with 84 days in individuals with out TBI).
Age and feminine intercourse have been related to the next threat of dementia, with about 1 in 3 individuals aged 85 years and older predicted to develop dementia after TBI. Earnings was additionally linked to dementia threat, with individuals from low-income neighborhoods at increased threat of dementia than these in high-income neighborhoods. Individuals residing in smaller communities, low-income areas, and areas with much less ethnic range have been extra more likely to be admitted to a long-term care facility.
“Our findings suggest that to better align limited health resources with population needs, specialized programs such as community-based dementia prevention programs, and support services should be prioritized for female older adults (≥ 75) living in smaller communities and low-income and low-diversity areas.”
The authors intend these outcomes to assist clinicians and households navigate the results of a TBI.
“Although TBI has been studied as a risk factor for dementia in adulthood, our findings emphasize its significant association with an increased rate of incident dementia, even when it is sustained in late life, and how this risk changes over time,” write the authors. “This critical information can assist clinicians in guiding older patients and their families to better understand long-term risks.”
Extra info:
Price of incident dementia and care wants amongst older adults with new traumatic mind damage: a population-based cohort research, Canadian Medical Affiliation Journal (2025). DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.250361
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Canadian Medical Affiliation Journal
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Traumatic mind accidents in older adults linked to elevated threat of dementia (2025, October 6)
retrieved 6 October 2025
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