Falls Requiring Medical Attention Tied to Later Dementia Diagnosis

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 2, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Falling is independently associated with an increased risk for subsequent dementia diagnosis among older adults, according to a study published online Sept. 30 in JAMA Network Open.

Alexander J. Ordoobadi, M.D., from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and colleagues assessed the risk for new Alzheimer disease and related dementia diagnosis after a fall in older adults using data from roughly 2.45 million Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries who experienced a traumatic injury (2014 to 2015) that resulted in an emergency department or inpatient encounter.

The researchers found that Alzheimer disease and related dementias were more frequently diagnosed within one year of a fall compared with other injury mechanisms (10.6 versus 6.1 percent). In an unadjusted analysis, higher risk was seen for incident dementia diagnosis after a fall (hazard ratio, 1.63). Risk persisted in multivariable Cox competing risk analysis (hazard ratio, 1.21) when controlling for patient demographics, medical comorbidities, and injury characteristics. For a subset of older adults without a recent skilled nursing facility admission, risk was also higher (hazard ratio, 1.27).

“These results suggest that cognitive screening should be implemented for older adults who have experienced a fall that results in an emergency department visit or hospital admission,” the authors write.

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