December 23, 2022
1 minute read
Traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and the apolipoprotein E4 gene showed strong links with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, researchers reported Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
PTSD and TBI are independently associated with AD risk. However, the simultaneous effects have never been studied, Dr. Mark W. RogueA statistician at the National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Health Care System, and colleagues wrote.

Roeg and colleagues evaluated the effects of APOE4, PTSD, and TBI on the prevalence of AD and related dementia (ADRD) in a cohort of veterans of European and African ancestry.
There were 11,112 ADRDs and 170,361 controls in the European cohort. In the African cohort, there were 1,443 ADRDs and 16,191 controls.
Additive scale interactions were calculated by relative excess risk by interaction statistics.
Researchers reported an increased risk of PTSD and TBI in veterans of European descent who inherited the APOE4 gene. Among veterans of African descent, TBI showed an increased risk, but PTSD did not.
“These additive interactions indicate that the prevalence of ADRD associated with PTSD and TBI increased with the number of inherited patients. appointmentfour alleles,” wrote Roeg and colleagues. “PTSD and her history of TBI will be an important part of interpreting ADRD genetic test results and making an accurate ADRD risk assessment.”
reference:
Head trauma, PTSD, may increase the impact of genetic variants on Alzheimer’s risk. https://www.research.va.gov/currents/1222-Head-trauma-PTSD-may-increase-genetic-variants-impact-on-Alzheimers-risk.cfm. Published December 22, 2022. Accessed 23 December 2022.