An exploration of clinical dementia phenotypes among individuals with and without traumatic brain injury

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Study compared the clinical profiles of individuals with dementia who did and did not report a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Data were collected from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set. Statistical analyses focused on evaluating differences between cases (332 individuals with dementia and history of TBI) and controls (664 individuals with dementia and no history of TBI) in the areas of cognitive functioning, psychiatric functioning, medical history and health, and clinical characteristics of dementia. Results indicated that demented individuals with and without a history of TBI may present with clinical characteristics that differ in subtle but meaningful ways. Those who reported a history of TBI had higher fluency and verbal memory scores and later onset of decline, but they were on more medications, had worse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health, were more likely to have received medical attention for depression, and were more likely to have a gait disorder, falls, and motor slowness. Findings suggest that dementia among individuals with a history of TBI may represent a unique clinical phenotype that is distinct from known dementia subtypes.

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