PTSD May Double Risk of Dementia, New Analysis Finds

A study published in the The Lancet Psychiatry found that sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be twice as likely to develop dementia later in life, reports CNN . Moreover, the risk of COVID-19 pandemic-related trauma turning into PTSD is elevated for frontline doctors, nurses, and families who have lost loved ones and sick patients, especially if they have been on ventilators. Furthermore, there is anxiety that the severe acute respiratory syndrome that occurs in some COVID-19 patients could penetrate the brain or trigger immune responses that harm brain function and mental health. The researchers analyzed data on almost 1.7 million people from 13 studies performed on four continents. Persons with PTSD were up to twice as likely to develop dementia up to 17 years later, while those with PTSD in the general population were more than twice as likely to develop dementia than adults who lacked such diagnosis. Veterans with PTSD were 1.5 times more likely to develop dementia than vets without the disorder. "If we can recognize PTSD, we can mitigate it with stress reduction techniques, with seeing qualified medical professionals, by using pharmacologic and non pharmacological treatments, by seeing a psychiatrist or seeing a therapist," said Richard Isaacson at New York-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical Center. "We also need more research on how to minimize stress in order to protect brain health over time."