PTSD diagnosis is associated with an increased risk for dementia diagnosis that varied with receipt of psychotropic medications. Further research would help to delineate if these findings are due to differences in PTSD severity, psychiatric comorbidity, or independent effects of psychotropic medications on cognitive decline.

IntroductionEmerging evidence indicates associations between extra-central nervous system (CNS) bacterial infections and an increased risk for dementia; however, epidemiological evidence is still very limited.MethodsThis study involved a retrospective cohort of a national sample of US veterans (N = 417,172) aged ≥56 years. Extended Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for demographic characteristics and medical and psychiatric comorbidities determined the associations between systemic and localized extra-CNS bacterial infections occurring >2 years before the initial dementia diagnosis and the risk for dementia.ResultsExposure to any extra-CNS bacterial infection was associated with a significantly increased risk for dementia (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.20 [95% confidence interval = 1.16–1.24]). Independently, septicemia (HR = 1.39 [1.16–1.66]), bacteremia (HR = 1.22 [1.00–1.49]), osteomyelitis (HR = 1.20 [1.06–1.37]), pneumonia (HR = 1.10 [1.02–1.19]), urinary tract infections (HR = 1.13 [1.08–1.18]), and cellulitis (HR = 1.14 [1.09–1.20]) were associated with a significantly increased risk for dementia.DiscussionBoth systemic and localized extra-CNS bacterial infections are associated with an increased risk for developing dementia.

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