PTSD and Cognitive Impairment

After physicians studied 10,481 veterans 65 and older, it was reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society on September 2, 2010 that people with post-traumatic stress disorder are at significantly greater risk for cognitive impairment (dementia) than their peers who had combat injuries but no stress disorder.

New studies will hopefully show whether the risk of dementia can be reduced by effectively treating PTSD.

"Confirmation of a causal link between PTSD and cognitive impairment in late life would have enormous global implication in a world facing a rising societal burden of dementia, a shrinking workforce to sustain its economies, and the difficulties of containing human violence," according to Dr. Soo Borson of the University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle. Moreover, "Soldiers and other U.S. war veterans are just one of many groups exposed to deeply traumatizing experiences with lifetime effect."

Source: MedlinePlus, health information from the National Library of Medicine

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