Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Risk Of Dementia For People With A Traumatic Brain Injury 24 Percent Higher Than For Someone Without One
The Associated Press: Number, Severity Of Brain Injuries Raises Dementia Risk
A large study offers more evidence of a link between traumatic brain injuries and dementia later in life, with repeated injuries and severe ones posing the greatest danger. Researchers analyzed 36 years of health records of 2.8 million people in Denmark, where a national health system makes it possible to explore connections in a far-reaching way. Overall, the risk was small. About 95 percent of people who suffered a brain injury never developed dementia. (Johnson, 4/10)
The New York Times: Traumatic Brain Injuries Are Tied To Dementia
T.B.I. has a wide range of severity. It extends from a mild sports concussion — an elbow to the head in a basketball game, for example — that results in very brief or no unconsciousness and no structural harm to the brain, to the most severe brain injuries that can cause extended unconsciousness, coma or even prove fatal. The study, in Lancet Psychiatry, used Danish health databases that included all residents as of Jan. 1, 1995, who were at least 50 years old at some time during the 36-year follow-up, from 1977 to 2013. Among 2,794,852 people, they found 258,827 who had had at least one T.B.I. (Bakalar, 4/10)
