If you have been in an auto accident, you are not alone. In fact, over 3 million Americans are injured annually in vehicle accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. These injuries can range in severity, with one of the most severe being head injuries. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control reported that motor vehicle crashes were the third overall leading cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI) related emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths among all age groups.
Whether it is severe head trauma or a mild head injury, there can be lasting effects that continue for years to come.
Studies Link TBI to Dementia and Parkinson’s Disease
A recent study published by the academic journal Neurology gathered data from 325, 870 former members of the U.S. military between the ages of 31 to 65 to see if they had experienced head injuries — even mild ones. The study found that those who had experienced a concussion at some point during their lives were 56 percent more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those who had not. Those who had more severe brain injuries were 83 percent more likely to develop Parkinson’s, and according to the National Parkinson’s Foundation, most people with Parkinson’s develop dementia.
The research does not stop there. A study using the Danish health databases followed 2, 794, 852 residents who were at least 50 years old between the years 1977 to 2013. Among those, 132, 093 individuals had experienced at least one traumatic brain injury (this included mild concussions). Of those individuals, 24 percent had an increased risk of dementia, and those who experienced five or more TBIs had three times the risk for the disease.
If you experience a head injury, what should you do?
If you were in an auto accident and experienced any level of concussion (or think you may have), it is critical that you are evaluated by a medical professional right away. Some of the symptoms may include, difficulty sleeping, poor concentration, irritability, fatigue, depression, memory loss, nausea, headaches, anxiety, difficulty thinking, dizziness, blurry or double vision, and sensitivity to light.
Schedule a free consultation by calling our Green Bay car crash lawyers at 920-739-7366 today.
Sources:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/
https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/get_the_facts.html
http://n.neurology.org/content/90/20/e1771
https://parkinson.org/sites/default/files/PD%20Dementia.pdf
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(18)30065-8/fulltext