Even Mild Brain Injuries May Increase Your Chances of Getting Parkinson ’s, Study Says

Even relatively mild brain injuries may increase your risk of developing the neurodegenerative condition Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study. The research, which was published Wednesday in the journal Neurology, found a strong connection between traumatic brain injuries such as concussions and a heightened risk of Parkinson’s, regardless of the severity of the injuries. The findings specifically pertain to veterans whose data had been recorded in Veterans Health Administration databases between 2002 and 2014. Compared to those who had never suffered a TBI, the increase in Parkinson’s risk — while still relatively low overall — ranged from 56% for veterans who had sustained mild injuries, to 83% for those with moderate to severe TBIs, according to the study. (Those who did not lose consciousness at the time of their injury, the least serious form of TBI, had a non-significant 33% increase.) These trends held true even after the researchers accounted for other factors that could affect Parkinson’s development, including substance use, chronic illnesses and education level. The study used a sample of 325,870 veterans, half of whom had suffered a TBI. Each individual with TBI was matched with a non-TBI individual of the same or similar age, to keep the comparison as accurate as possible. Whenever possible, the severity of an individual’s TBI was also specified. None of the individuals had Parkinson’s at the study’s ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthytime Research Source Type: news