New research published by the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoringconfirms the connection between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cognitive impairment – in this case, among those who helped with search, rescue and cleanup efforts following the 2001 World Trade Center (WTC) attacks.
“To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the association of PTSD and major depressive disorder (MDD) with cognitive impairment in a large group of civilian World Trade Center responders without head injury,” said Sean A. Clouston, Ph.D., first author on the article.
In the study population of more than 800 WTC responders:
- Approximately 12.8% (104) had scores indicative of cognitive impairment (CI) and 1.2% (10) had scores suggesting possible dementia.
- Current PTSD and MDD were associated with CI.
- Re-experiencing symptoms (e.g., flashbacks, nightmares) was consistently associated with CI.
- Since 2002, more than 33,000 responders have enrolled in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-sponsored WTC Health Program.
According to the authors of this new study, if the findings from their group are representative of actual prevalence of CI in the full cohort, results may translate into 3,740-5,300 individuals with CI and 240-810 individuals with dementia.
“These numbers are staggering, considering that the average age of responders was 53 during this study,” Clouston said.