Overview

• Analyzing more than 260,000 Ontario residents aged 65 and older, researchers found new traumatic brain injury was linked to higher rates of incident dementia—69% within five years and 56% beyond five years.
• Late-life injury was also associated with greater use of publicly funded services, including home care (hazard ratio 1.30; 87 versus 84 days) and long-term care admission (hazard ratio 1.45).
• Risk was concentrated in the oldest groups and in women, with roughly one in three people aged 85 and older predicted to develop dementia after an injury.
• Socioeconomic and geographic disparities were evident, with higher dementia risk in low-income neighborhoods and less home care but more long-term care admission in smaller, less diverse communities.
• Because more than half of injuries in older adults result from falls, the study recommends targeted fall-prevention and community-based supports for at-risk seniors.