Traumatic brain injury, often called TBI, happens when a blow, bump, or sudden jolt to the head damages the brain.
These injuries can range from mild concussions to severe brain damage that changes a person’s life forever.
Every year, millions of people around the world experience traumatic brain injuries. Older adults are especially vulnerable because they are more likely to fall, and falls are one of the leading causes of head injuries in this age group.
Scientists have known for several years that suffering a traumatic brain injury may raise the risk of developing several serious brain diseases later in life. Previous research has linked TBI to a higher chance of stroke, dementia, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease.
However, researchers have begun asking another important question. Could the relationship also work in the opposite direction? Could having one of these neurological conditions make a person more likely to experience a traumatic brain injury?
A new study published in the journal Neurology suggests that the answer may be yes. The research was led by Dr. Carrie Peltz from the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System in California. The findings indicate that older adults who develop certain brain diseases may become much more vulnerable to head injuries.
For the study, researchers examined health records from 13,801 veterans who had recently experienced a traumatic brain injury. The average age of the participants was 78 years old.
The scientists compared them with 41,403 veterans of similar ages who had not experienced a traumatic brain injury. The researchers looked at medical information from the year before and the year after the injury occurred, or a similar period for those without an injury.
The study focused on four major neurological conditions: stroke, dementia, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease. A stroke happens when blood flow to the brain is blocked or when bleeding occurs in the brain.
Dementia causes problems with memory, thinking, and daily functioning. Epilepsy is a condition that causes repeated seizures, while Parkinson’s disease gradually affects movement, balance, and coordination.
To better understand the relationship between these conditions and traumatic brain injury, researchers excluded people who already had any of the four conditions before the study period. This allowed them to focus on newly diagnosed cases.
The findings were striking. Older veterans who had recently experienced a traumatic brain injury were three to four times more likely to have been diagnosed with one of these neurological conditions during the previous year than veterans who had not suffered a head injury.
For stroke, there were 64 cases per 1,000 person-years among people with TBI compared with only 20 cases among those without TBI. For dementia, the rates were 58 compared with 19. For epilepsy, the rates were 14 compared with 4. For Parkinson’s disease, the rates were 10 compared with 3.
Even after accounting for factors such as smoking, diabetes, and previous heart attacks, the results remained strong. People with a traumatic brain injury were four times more likely to have recently been diagnosed with epilepsy and three times more likely to have recently developed stroke, dementia, or Parkinson’s disease.
The researchers also examined what happened after a traumatic brain injury. They found that people were twice as likely to develop stroke or epilepsy following a TBI compared with before the injury.
They were also 24 percent more likely to develop dementia. The rate of Parkinson’s disease did not increase during the study period, although earlier studies have found a connection.
The researchers believe there may be a simple explanation. Conditions such as stroke, dementia, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease often affect balance, coordination, movement, and thinking.
These problems can make older adults much more likely to fall. Since falls are the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries in older people, these diseases may indirectly increase the risk of head injury.
The findings suggest that the time immediately after a person is diagnosed with one of these neurological conditions may be a critical opportunity for prevention. Doctors may be able to reduce the risk of head injuries by screening patients for falls, referring them to physical or occupational therapy, and recommending strength and balance exercises.
Small changes at home, such as removing loose rugs, improving lighting, and installing grab bars in bathrooms, may also help prevent dangerous falls.
In reviewing these findings, the study highlights that brain health and injury risk are closely connected in both directions. A traumatic brain injury may increase the risk of neurological diseases, and neurological diseases may increase the risk of traumatic brain injuries.
However, the study only shows an association and cannot prove that one condition directly causes the other. The research also has limitations because it excluded people who died within a year of a severe head injury and people with mild injuries who never sought medical care.
Since all participants were military veterans, the findings may not fully apply to the general population. Even so, the study provides an important reminder that protecting balance, mobility, and brain health in older adults may be one of the most effective ways to reduce both neurological disease and traumatic brain injury.
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