A recent study has made a connection between having a concussion early in life and experiencing memory and thinking problems years later.
This study is significant because it involved twins who share the same genes and often have similar lifestyles, especially in their early years.
The study was conducted with World War II veterans, and it found that those who had suffered a concussion—especially one serious enough to knock them out or if they were older than 24 when injured—had more rapid mental decline compared to their twin who hadn’t experienced such an injury.
The Numbers and Their Implications
Researchers studied 8,662 male veterans of World War II, asking them to take mental agility tests over a span of 12 years.
On average, they started these tests around age 67. In this group, about one in four men had had a concussion at some point in their lives.
What’s striking is that the twin who had a concussion generally scored lower in these mental tests compared to their twin who didn’t.
For instance, if one twin had suffered a traumatic brain injury after the age of 24, their test score at age 70 was 0.59 points lower than their twin who hadn’t had a similar injury. Additionally, this difference in scores grew bigger each year.
Even though the difference seems small, it could be significant when added to other factors that influence mental health, like high blood pressure, alcohol use, and education levels.
“This could be enough to trigger an evaluation for cognitive impairment,” says study author Marianne Chanti-Ketterl of Duke University.
Why This Matters Now
The study could be a wake-up call for both parents and young adults who might overlook the long-term consequences of head injuries due to sports or accidents.
With more people visiting emergency rooms for sports-related injuries and half a million military members suffering traumatic brain injuries between 2000 and 2020, understanding the long-term impact of such injuries is critical.
This research suggests that those with early-life concussions might need to be monitored for cognitive decline or potential dementia.
Limitations and Next Steps
One limitation of the study is that the information about concussions was self-reported, meaning some people might not remember or might not have accurately reported their injuries.
But even with this limitation, the findings are still valuable. Future research might aim to corroborate these findings with medical records for more accuracy.
If you care about brain health, please read studies about vitamin D deficiency linked to Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia, and blood pressure problem at night may increase Alzheimer’s risk.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about Vitamin B9 deficiency linked to higher dementia risk, and results showing flavonoid-rich foods could improve survival in Parkinson’s disease.
The research findings can be found in Neurology.
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