Falls are the leading cause of injury among older adults. Could they also be an early indicator of cognitive decline? A new study found that a diagnosis of dementia in older adults was more likely within one year after they had a serious fall.
The study looked at data from almost 2.5 million adults age 66 and older who did not have an existing dementia diagnosis but had a traumatic injury that caused them to go to the emergency room or be hospitalized. About half of them, or around 1.2 million, were injured by a fall.
Those who had fallen were 21% more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia in the next year compared with those whose injuries were due to something else. Just over 10% — about 130,000 — were diagnosed with some form of dementia within the next year
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