Military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could be more likely to develop dementia. PTSD often occurs in soldiers coming back from war zones and it is estimated that as many as 17% of veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan have it while between 10-15% of Vietnam veterans had PTSD symptoms 15 years or longer after their return. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco studied 181,093 veterans, aged 55 or older, over a seven-year period from 2000 to 2007. Over that time 31,107 of them developed dementia. The veterans with PTSD had a 10.6% risk of developing dementia, compared to a 6.6% risk for those without the condition. The study took into account demographic variables and other medical and psychiatric illnesses. PTSD has previously been linked to a range of other medical conditions and declines in cognitive performance.
You can find out more about this research at
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100607165623.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
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