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TBI In Older Age Increases Risk of Parkinson’s Disease
Individuals over the age of 55 who experience traumatic brain injury (TBI) face an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a study recently published in Annals of Neurology.
For the study, Raquel C. Gardner, MD, from the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues used data from inpatient and emergency departments from California hospitals to identify patients age 55 and older who have experienced traumatic brain injuries between 2005 and 2006.
After conducting follow-up evaluations on the individuals, the researchers observed these individuals were at a notable risk for Parkinson’s disease.
“Among patients aged [older than] 55 years presenting to inpatient/emergency department settings with trauma, TBI is associated with a 44 percent increased risk of developing PD over five to seven years that is unlikely to be due to confounding or reverse causation,” the authors write.
