ALZHEIMER’S
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Learn How Post traumatic Stress Disorder is Linked to Dementia
“Recent Studies Are Showing That Veterans with PTSD Are More Likely to Develop Alzheimer's As They Get Older”
Did You Know…?
Older veterans who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are almost twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and other age-related dementias as veterans without PTSD are.
Do You Know What Dementia Is?
Dementia is not a disease itself. It is a group of symptoms that are caused by various diseases or conditions. Read how dementia develops, what causes it, and which conditions are treatable.
Do You Know What Alzheimer's Is?
The most common form of dementia among older people is Alzheimer’s disease. About 4.5 million Americans suffer from this condition, which usually begins after age 60.
What Are the Medical Studies and Research Showing about Alzheimer’s and Dementia?
The study is among the first to link combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder to dementia later in life, but it is not clear if having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) increases the risk for late-life dementias or if recurring Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an early symptom of dementia in older veterans. A medical study like this one shows that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) causes dementia. Many doctors believe the key reason for this is due to the stress they are living with on a daily basis.
Why Are Many Veterans Getting Alzheimer’s disease?
There is proof that chronic stress may damage the hippocampus, which is the area of the brain that is vital for you to have in order to retain your memory and be able to have the ability to learn.
The Results - The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Alzheimer's Study
- Barnes and colleagues followed more than 180,000 mostly male older veterans for seven years, including just over 53,000 with a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). None had dementia in late 2000, but about 31,000 (17%) had been diagnosed with the degenerative memory and thinking disorder.
- The veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) had about an 11% risk of developing dementia over the seven-year period, compared to about a 7% risk among veterans without the stress disorder.
- After researching other risk factors related to the development of Alzheimer's disease and other late-life dementias, the veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were 77% more likely to develop dementia as those without it. The results for this study did not change even after researchers stopped using patients with a history of head injury, substance abuse, or clinical depression.
The U.S. Department of Defense and the National Institute on Aging funded the study. It was posted in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. Just as with depression, it is common for people to cycle in and out of PTSD for many years or even decades if they are not given the appropriate help.
My question is - What is the government going to do to help our Veterans since there is evidence that our soldiers who fight in war are more likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s due to the mental and physical stress they endure when they are deployed? What is the government going to do to protect our solders to help lessen the chances of soldiers developing dementia and Alzheimer’s?
The Facts - Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is Common in Old and Young Veterans
PTSD is common among combat veterans, even decades after the fighting ends. In one, study of older World War II and Korean veterans, as many as:
· 12% were still reporting symptoms 45 years after their service ended
· Studies of Vietnam veterans suggest that 10% to 15% still suffered from PTSD a decade and a half or longer after returning from war.
· In a recent study of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, 17% suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder.
Psychiatrist Gary Kennedy, MD, who directs the division of geriatric psychiatry at New York's Montefiore Medical Center, said that treating PTSD in wounded veterans returning from war will pose a particular challenge because so many have traumatic brain injuries due to exposure to roadside improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Psychiatrist Gary Kennedy, MD, said that they have gotten very good at saving lives on the battlefield, but we are not so good at dealing with the brain injuries that occur because of IED exposure. Doctors strongly believe it is a good bet that the risk for dementia is much higher when PTSD is complicated by brain injury.
What do you think the U.S. Government should do to help our Veterans? Leave your comments.
