Brain Injury May Boost Risk of Alzheimer’s Earlier In Life

Some research suggests that experiencing brain injuries such as concussions can lead to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s. A study was conducted which looked at over 2100 cases in which a head injury resulted in a loss of consciousness for over 5 minutes. These cases seem to be presenting dementia and its symptoms up to 2 and a half years earlier than those who did not experience this.

Although the specifics of the cause is not known yet, these findings are again fueling more concern over contact sports in which head injuries commonly occur. Another study found that these brain injuries can cause Alzheimer’s and dementia to appear up to a staggering 9 years earlier as people age.

On the contrary, however, there have also been studies that have concluded that brain and head injuries have nothing to do with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s or dementia. There is great debate because not much is known at this point in time. It is discussed that we must wait until the students experiencing these head traumas now in life age to the point where they are 60 to 70 years old to truly understand the link.”

Key Points:

  • 1A Traumatic Brain Injury is a risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer’s later in life.
  • 2Safety concerns for those participating in impact sports continues to increase.
  • 3The NCAA is now recording concussion histories in 32,000 athletes which will help research.


An analysis of more than 2,100 cases found that people who sustained traumatic brain injury (TBI) with loss of consciousness greater than five minutes were diagnosed with dementia on average 2 1/2 years earlier than those who had not experienced TBI.
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Written by HealthStatus
Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our health risk assessment, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years.

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