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Association of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury With and Without Loss of Consciousness With Dementia in US Military Veterans
Barnes DE, Byers AL, Gardner RC, Seal KH, Boscardin WJ, Yaffe K.. JAMA neurology, 2018-09-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Results The study included 178 779 patients diagnosed with a TBI in the Veterans Health Administration health care system and 178 779 patients in a propensity-matched comparison group. A total of 4698 veterans (2.6%) without TBI developed dementia compared with 10 835 (6.1%) of those with TBI. Conclusions and relevance In this cohort study of more than 350 000 veterans, even mild TBI without LOC was associated with more than a 2-fold increase in the risk of dementia diagnosis.
Key findings
- Results The study included 178 779 patients diagnosed with a TBI in the Veterans Health Administration health care system and 178 779 patients in a propensity-matched comparison group.
- A total of 4698 veterans (2.6%) without TBI developed dementia compared with 10 835 (6.1%) of those with TBI.
- Conclusions and relevance In this cohort study of more than 350 000 veterans, even mild TBI without LOC was associated with more than a 2-fold increase in the risk of dementia diagnosis.
Why it matters
In a study of more than 350,000 US veterans, 6.1% of those diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury were later diagnosed with dementia, compared with 2.6% of a matched group without one. The authors report that even mild TBI without loss of consciousness "was associated with more than a 2-fold increase in the risk of dementia diagnosis." This is an observational link in veterans, not proof that head injury causes dementia or that avoiding it lowers risk.
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Study details
- Study designcohort study
- Participants178
- Effect size9.3%; 72.5%; 2.6%
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 70/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (JAMA neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | JAMA Neurology: journal h-index 235 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A cohort study following people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 178 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 396 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 39.6 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 26.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 17 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 129 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Kristine S. Yaffe: h-index 155 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of California, San Francisco: institution h-index 1,915 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 29801145) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 70 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2018.0815
- PubMed: 29801145
- Original source →
- Free full text: JAMA Neurology →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Barnes, D. E., Byers, A. L., Gardner, R. C., Seal, K. H., Boscardin, W. J., & Yaffe, K. (2018). Association of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury With and Without Loss of Consciousness With Dementia in US Military Veterans. JAMA neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2018.0815
Vancouver
Barnes DE, Byers AL, Gardner RC, Seal KH, Boscardin WJ, Yaffe K. Association of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury With and Without Loss of Consciousness With Dementia in US Military Veterans. JAMA neurology. 2018. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2018.0815. PMID: 29801145.
BibTeX
@article{barnes2018-29801145,
author = {Barnes, D. E. and Byers, A. L. and Gardner, R. C. and Seal, K. H. and Boscardin, W. J. and Yaffe, K.},
title = {{Association of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury With and Without Loss of Consciousness With Dementia in US Military Veterans}},
journal = {JAMA neurology},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1001/jamaneurol.2018.0815},
pmid = {29801145},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2018.0815}
}
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