Concussions Could Increase Dementia Risk Among Seniors

Key Takeaways

• A concussion might increase dementia risk among seniors

• Seniors were 69% more likely to develop dementia within five years of a traumatic brain injury

• TBI also was tied to greater need for home care and higher odds of winding up in a long-term care home

TUESDAY, Oct. 7, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Seniors who get a concussion are more likely to develop dementia or falter as they age, a new study says.

Older folks who suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) had a higher risk of dementia, requiring home care services or admission to a long-term care facility, researchers reported Oct. 6 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

“One of the most common reasons for TBI in older adulthood is sustaining a fall, which is often preventable,” wrote the research team led by Dr. Jenny Yu Qing Huang, a geriatrician and doctoral student at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation.

“By targeting fall-related TBIs, we can potentially reduce TBI-associated dementia in this population,” researchers wrote.

TBIs occur when a person either whacks their head or is violently jerked by whiplash, causing the brain to hit the inside of the skull and sustain damage, researchers said in background notes.

More than 50% of TBIs in older adults result from falls, researchers said.

For the new study, researchers analyzed data on more than 260,000 people 65 and older living in Ontario, Canada, comparing the health outcomes of those who’d sustained a TBI against those who hadn’t. The data ran between April 2004 and March 2020.

New cases of TBI were associated with a 69% increased risk of dementia developing within five years, and a 56% increased risk of dementia beyond five years, researchers found.

Seniors with a recent TBI also were 30% more likely to need home health care and 45% more likely to be admitted to a long-term care home, the study said.

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Women and the elderly were more likely to suffer dementia related to TBI, researchers found.

For example, nearly 1 in 3 people 85 and older were predicted to develop dementia following a concussion.

The study found people from low-income neighborhoods also had a higher risk of TBI-related dementia.

“Although TBI has been studied as a risk factor for dementia in adulthood, our findings emphasize its significant association with an increased rate of incident dementia, even when it is sustained in late life, and how this risk changes over time,” the researchers wrote.

“This critical information can assist clinicians in guiding older patients and their families to better understand long-term risks,” researchers added.

More information

The National Institutes of Health have more on traumatic brain injury.

SOURCES: Canadian Medical Association, news release, Oct. 6, 2025; Canadian Medical Association Journal, Oct. 6, 2025

What This Means For You

Seniors should protect themselves from falls and head injuries, as these can increase their risk of dementia.