Skip to main content

Military Health System

More Inclusive Research Key to Understanding Prevalence of Dementia

Image of Animated image of brain. Animated image of brain

Recommended Content:

Women's Health | Psychological Fitness | Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence

Rather than being considered a specific disease, the National Institute on Aging defines dementia as a general term for a range of neurological conditions that affect the brain and get worse over time. It includes losing the ability to remember, think, and reason to levels that affect your everyday life and activities.

Though dementia affects over six million people in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that women are at higher risk—nearly twice that of men—of developing Alzheimer’s disease, one of several progressive cognitive disorders common in older adults.

According to the NIA, there are several types of dementia:

  • Alzheimer's disease: Caused by changes in the brain, including abnormal buildups of proteins, it's the most common dementia diagnosis among older adults. According to the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease , "It is a major public health issue and will increasingly affect the health and well-being of the population."
  • Frontotemporal dementia: Rare and tends to occur in people younger than 60, who have abnormal amounts or forms of certain proteins.
  • Lewy body dementia: Caused by abnormal deposits of a protein called Lewy bodies.
  • Vascular dementia: Caused by conditions that damage blood vessels in the brain or interrupt the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain.
  • Mixed dementia: A combination of two or more types of dementia

Risk Factors for the Military

Military service members "may be at greater risk for developing dementia due to a higher prevalence of traumatic brain injury, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression," according to a 2019 National Institutes of Health study the Department of Defense supported.

The study included a cohort of female veterans aged 55 and older and concluded that women with TBI, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder had an increased risk of developing dementia than women without those diagnoses. It also found that female veterans with multiple risk factors had more than twice the risk of developing the condition than those who did not have those conditions.

This and other studies like it help explain why "veterans are at increased risk of dementia due to some risk factors associated with being in the military," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Elizabeth Trahan, a clinical neuropsychologist and mental health flight commander with the 96th Medical Group at Eglin Air Force Base, in Florida.

Deployed service members "probably aren't sleeping as well," Trahan continued. "And they may be at increased risk to trauma exposure if they're in a combat zone or if they're exposed to a lot of explosives."

"But those risks don't only happen in a deployed environment," said Trahan.

"We have a lot of service members who have trauma and TBI from training exercises or non military related activities, but deployments make service members more prone to be exposed to those conditions which could potentially increase their risk," she said.

Although there were more than 458,000 reported traumatic brain injuries in the DOD between 2000-2022, "most TBIs occur in noncombat settings," according to the Defense Health Agency's Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence.

"For example, service members can sustain a TBI during day-to-day activities, such as while playing sports or participating in recreational events, military training, and military deployment," according to the TBICoE.

Reasons Behind the Inequity

There are several reasons for the inequity, said Trahan.

"For a long time, the argument was that women live longer than men," she said. "So, of course, we were going to have higher numbers of women with dementia simply because they were outliving men."

But experts know now that that's not the only reason and that doesn't solely explain why that happens, she added.

"It's a complex issue that involves hormones, inflammatory markers, different risk factors that women might be prone to that men might not, but also probably to some stereotypes and biases against women that have resulted in less access to education and health care in some cases."

Genetics and reproduction could also play a role, said U.S. Air Force Col. (Dr.) Mary Anne Kiel, a pediatrician and chair of the Defense Health Agency's Primary Care Clinical Community.

Yet, for both men and women, there are ways to prevent dementia.

"Research shows that up to 60% of dementia may be preventable with a healthier lifestyle", said Kiel. "Other leading research in this area estimates that optimizing one's lifestyle may reduce the risk of dementia by as much as 90%."

Female military personnel
Female veterans with diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and depression may be at increased risk of developing dementia than women without those diagnoses. Photo credit: U.S. Army Spc. Joseph Black

Impacts on Readiness

“It’s key to focus on preventative efforts, preventative medicine, those self-help things that people can do to try to get ahead of it before it becomes an issue, impacts readiness, and so that it has less of an impact on the strain on our health care resources available to veterans and military members,” Trahan said.

“Recommended preventative strategies include a healthy diet, exercise, routine health care, those kinds of things,” she added, emphasizing they’re the same for men and women.

“Honestly, if it's good for your body, it's good for your brain,” she said.

For Kiel, a healthy diet implies changing to a predominantly whole plant foods diet more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, while minimizing processed foods and eliminating red and processed meats.

She agreed that preventive strategies, “can not only improve our individual readiness but also significantly protect us from negative effects of stressors—such as injury and illness—and aid in recovery as well as minimize the risk of developing future chronic diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.”

Promoting Brain Health

Trahan explained improving your sleep is key to brain health.

She noted additional research shows “that people who have prolonged sleep problems are also at higher risk for developing dementia.”

Kiel explained that during sleep, “our brains use that time to clean up the trash that has accumulated while we’re awake. If we don’t get adequate restful sleep, those harmful toxins remain and accumulate over time in the brain. The buildup of toxic proteins has been linked to Alzheimer’s and dementia.”

Since “sleep is a challenge in the military, just due to the nature of our job and deployments, practicing healthy sleep habits and trying to get an adequate amount of sleep is something else that people can do,” to promote brain health, said Trahan.

She added it’s important to take on activities that activate the brain. “Make sure you do things that are cognitively stimulating,” she said, like staying engaged in social or academic activities with a goal of learning something new.

“Constantly doing something that keeps your brain active helps keep your brain young,” she said.

Some of these activities can include crossword puzzles, playing a musical instrument, or learning a new language to keep your brain active, challenged, and engaged. However, if you’re already good at those things, it’s time to challenge yourself to do something new, say experts.

More Diverse and Inclusive Research

“There are lots of different correlations to the development of dementia,” said Trahan. “We need to do more research; we need to learn more about those. And as part of that research, it’s really important to make sure we are including women.”

She said that some of the limitations and the reasons there are so many unknowns is because the research is not including diverse populations.

In the case of women, “we just don't know enough about why women are at increased risk,” yet much of the available research shows “some pretty big discrepancies in terms of the sample population, or that the study population is conducted primarily on men,” Trahan said.

As such, recruiting women to be a part of the research is especially important.

DOD Efforts

The DOD has a variety of resources on TBIs, including fact sheets, podcasts, and more.

In June 2022, DOD put in place the Warfighter Brain Health Initiative, a joint effort between operational and medical communities to better address the brain health needs of service members, their families, line leaders, commanders, and their communities at large.

“The strategy and action plan addresses brain exposures, to include blast exposures, TBl, and long term or late effects of TBl, with the goal of optimizing brain health and countering TBI,” said the memorandum Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Christopher W. Grady signed to implement the initiative.

“Our goal must be to ensure our warfighters are performing at optimized capacity and if exposed or injured by a known or emerging hazard, we return our warfighters to full health to include their brain health to maximize each individual's quality of life,” they said in the strategy and action plan.

The initiative aims to:

  • Optimize cognitive and physical performance
  • Identify, monitor, and mitigate brain exposures
  • Prevent, recognize, and minimize the effects of TBI
  • Reduce or eliminate long-term and late effects
  • Advance warfighter brain health science

It also emphasizes good sleep as a critical health element.

“We are emphasizing sleep quite a bit in the Comprehensive Strategy and Action Plan for Warfighter Brain Health,” said Dr. David Brody, chief science and innovation officer at the Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, in Bethesda, Maryland.

"Across the DOD, including USU, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and many other sites, we are doing many research studies to learn how to better treat sleep problems that occur in the military. Good, quality sleep is key," he said.

For more information on brain health, memory loss, and other markers of dementia, talk to your health care provider.

You also may be interested in...

Driving After Traumatic Brain Injury at Womack Army Medical Center

Article Around MHS
3/8/2023
The Womack Army Medical Center uses a rehabilitation vehicle that builds confidence for a service member, diligently working to regain independence in their life after a traumatic brain injury. (Photo by Sameria Zavala, Womack Army Medical Center)

Traumatic brain injuries can end military careers and create great strains on military families. That's why the occupational therapists at Womack Army Medical Center have created a therapy that most of us take for granted to get injured soldiers back on the road to recovery.

Recommended Content:

Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence | Warrior Care | Be a Brain Warrior: Protect. Treat. Optimize.

DOD Releases Policies to Ensure Access to Non-Covered Reproductive Health Care

Article Around MHS
2/16/2023
A captain deploys, while pregnant wife stays home

The Department of Defense has released the directed policies on command notification of pregnancy, administrative absence for non-covered reproductive health care, and travel allowances for non-covered reproductive health care.

Recommended Content:

Women's Health | Ensuring Access to Reproductive Health Care

USU, Canadian Armed Forces Host Military Women’s Health Workshop

Article Around MHS
2/15/2023
Panelists at the Armed Forces Health Services and Uniformed Services University's International Military Women's Health Workshop

Women make up nearly 20% of the the United States Armed Forces, so having more females in healthcare professions creates a much more effective force. That's why the Uniformed Services University and Canadian Armed Forces Health Services collaborated recently to advance research on women’s health issues and to optimize care for women in uniform.

Recommended Content:

Women's Health | Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences | March | Building Partner Capacity and Interoperability

Army Restoration and Reconditioning Centers Help Soldiers with Deployment Stress and Optimize Unit Readiness

Article Around MHS
2/15/2023
Military personnel during mindfulness training

Yoga and mindfulness for the warfighter? We take a look inside an Army program's "whole person" approach to help soldiers cope with stressful or traumatic events in combat and other military operations.

Recommended Content:

Psychological Health Center of Excellence | Psychological Fitness | Mental Health for Active Duty Service Members, Older Adults, and Families | Mental Health is Health Care

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Continues Expanding Mental Health Options in Pilot Program’s Second Year

Article Around MHS
2/10/2023
Naval Branch Health Clinic Bahrain sign at Naval Support Activity Bahrain

A two-year pilot program expanding mental health treatment options for military and family members hit its halfway mark. Find out how it's been successful so far, and what's next in advancing services to warfighters and their families experiencing acute mental health problems.

Recommended Content:

Mental Health: Seeking Care with TRICARE | Psychological Fitness | Building Partner Capacity and Interoperability | Mental Health is Health Care

Sesame Workshop Rolls Out Self Care Content for Military Families

Article Around MHS
2/3/2023
A video still shows the Muppet Elmo and his father looking toward the camera.

Sesame Workshop has launched new digital resources for military parents and children that offer simple strategies for mental health and self-care. The resources include videos demonstrating the importance of finding the little wins, being flexible with routines, meal planning and even learning how to be still and quiet.

Recommended Content:

Children's Health | Psychological Fitness

Uniformed Services University Professor Develops Self-Diagnosis, Treatment Kit for Common Female Infections

Article Around MHS
1/4/2023
USU infographic with Dr. Elizabeth Kostas-Polston

It's a major research advancement in women's health and females serving in the U.S. military may soon have access to it. See how a new, self-diagnosis and self-treatment kit can help deployed women overseas or in austere environments.

Recommended Content:

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences | Research & Innovation | Women's Health

Blanchfield Named One of Best Hospitals for Maternity Care

Article Around MHS
12/22/2022
Meternity patients filling out forms

Providing safe, excellent, quality care to patients takes incredible work and dedication - especially when it comes to women's health. Find out what's happening at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital that landed them a top spot on the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care list.

Recommended Content:

Women's Health | Children's Health

Service Dog Helps a Colonel Fight the Battles Back Home

Article Around MHS
12/16/2022
U.S. Air Force Col. Adam Roberts with his service dog, Porche

A soldier's 23-year struggle with mental resiliency, the horror of combat, and personal challenges prompt him (with the help of a lovable labradoodle) to advocate for better awareness and treatment of mental health.

Recommended Content:

Psychological Health Center of Excellence | Psychological Fitness | Mental Health: Seeking Care with TRICARE | Mental Health is Health Care

Mixed Messages Can Fuel Stigma, Prevent Soldiers from Accessing Behavioral Health Care

Article Around MHS
12/16/2022
Army Public Health infographic

Emphasis on physical readiness and injury rehabilitation is paramount in the military. But what about warfighters' mental health care? See how Soldiers and leaders are reducing obstacles - especially negative stigmas - that prevent others from seeking help.

Recommended Content:

Psychological Fitness | Mental Health: Seeking Care with TRICARE | Mental Health is Health Care

DOD Begins Hiring Prevention Workforce

Article Around MHS
12/2/2022
Infographic - suicide prevention.

DOD is working to create the healthy climates necessary to address a range of problematic and harmful behaviors, including suicide. This will be accomplished, in part, with a new and dedicated focus.

Recommended Content:

Suicide Prevention | Suicide Prevention | Depression | Psychological Fitness | Mental Health is Health Care

U.S. Air Force Provides Information for Aircrew Considering Flying During Their Pregnancy

Article Around MHS
11/14/2022
U.S. Air Force Maj. Molly Sexton conducts pre-flight inspections

In April 2022, the U.S. Air Force issued a clarification of policies pertaining to aircrew during pregnancy. The policy recognized the need to provide aircrew, commanders, and health care professionals greater awareness of and transparency around the process for submission and review of waivers to fly during pregnancy.

Recommended Content:

Women's Health

Murtha Cancer Center Hosts 2022 Breast Cancer Summit

Article Around MHS
11/7/2022
Military medical personnel performing mammogram

The John P. Murtha Cancer Center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center hosted its 2022 Breast Cancer Summit virtually Oct. 26. The summit is held annually during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

Recommended Content:

October | Women's Health | Cancers of the Female Reproductive System

USS Gerald R. Ford’s Commitment to Women’s Health

Article Around MHS
11/2/2022
U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class Cassandra Styles participates in a mass casualty drill

One in eight women will face cancer in their life. Additionally, breast cancer has a 99 percent survival rate if detected in early stages and a 29 percent survival rate if detected late. U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Samuel Douglas, Ford’s surgeon, offers a service in identifying breast cancer in the early stage for women aboard Ford. Douglas’ service is just one of many that Ford provides.

Recommended Content:

Women's Health

DOD Announces Effort to Ensure Reproductive Health Care

Article Around MHS
10/20/2022
TRICARE covers a full range of contraceptive methods, regardless of which health plan you have. And recent changes to TRICARE policies help make sure you’ll have easy, convenient, and timely access to contraceptive services.

Today, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced the Department will take all appropriate action, within its authority and consistent with applicable federal law, as soon as possible to ensure that Service members and their families can access reproductive health care and health care providers can operate effectively.

Recommended Content:

Women's Health
<< < 1 2 3 4 > >> 
Showing results 1 - 15 Page 1 of 4
Refine your search
Last Updated: December 08, 2022
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery