Recovery among Older Adults Following Head Injury

NIH RePORTER · AG · R01 · $637,910 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

Development of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) is multifactorial, and some causal factors can be influenced or modified. Recently, the Lancet Commission included traumatic brain injury (TBI) in its list of 12 key potentially modifiable ADRD risk factors. TBI is a very common injury among older adults, resulting in over 123,000 hospitalizations and 485,000 emergency department visits annually. Importantly, rates of TBI are rapidly increasing in this population. TBI results in cognitive impairment and increases risk for both Alzheimer's disease and fronto-temporal dementia. Furthermore, TBI can result in worsened health outcomes (e.g., poor physical functioning, psychological distress, worsened sleep quality), which in turn increase risk for ADRD. Yet, despite the large public health impact of TBI among older adults, little is known about changes in cognition and related domains following discharge from acute care in this population. Although such information is urgently needed to guide rehabilitation, care planning, and promotion of optimal long-term recovery in this vulnerable population, these data are severely lacking in the literature. One major reason for this lack of knowledge is that most prior research on TBI has focused on younger adults. Unfortunately, many findings from younger adults do not generalize to older adults due to their higher comorbidity burden and poorer cognitive and physical functioning at discharge from acute care. The objective of the proposed research is to gain an in-depth understanding of recovery of cognition, psychological and physical functioning, and sleep quality following TBI among older adults. To achieve this objective, we propose to conduct a prospective cohort study of 250 patients aged 65 years and older treated for mild TBI at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center with follow-up at 3, 6, and 12 months to complete three Specific Aims: 1) Assess recovery of cognitive functioning and identify predictors of poo

Key facts

NIH application ID
11299519
Project number
5R01AG076441-05
Recipient
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE
Principal Investigator
Jennifer S. Albrecht
Activity code
R01
Funding institute
AG
Fiscal year
2026
Award amount
$637,910
Award type
5
Project period
2022-07-01T00:00:00 → 2027-03-31T00:00:00