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A systematic review on the physical and mental health risk factors of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease in military veterans
Author(s) -
Akhanemhe Rebecca A,
Stevelink Sharon A.M,
Aarsland Dag,
Greenberg Neil
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1002/alz.042913
Subject(s) - dementia , observational study , disease , population , psychiatry , medicine , medline , depression (economics) , systematic review , epidemiology , mental health , military service , gerontology , military personnel , psychology , clinical psychology , environmental health , pathology , history , archaeology , political science , law , economics , macroeconomics
Background The connection between military service, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been previously explored but findings remain inconclusive. With age as the greatest and unmodifiable risk factor for dementia in military veterans, there is a need to further explore specific physical and mental health factors that influence cognition and dementia in military veterans compared to the general population. We will review publications as part of a systematic review to identify if traumatic brain injury, post‐traumatic stress disorder and depression influence the risk of MCI and AD in both military veterans and non‐veterans. Method We aim to conduct a meta‐analysis but if we identify limited suitable studies, a systematic review will be an alternative approach. Our systematic search will be carried out using various bibliographic databases including MEDLINE and PubMed. Data will be extracted from comparative and non‐comparative epidemiological and observational studies, published between 1990 to December 2019. The study population will be restricted to adults aged ≥50 years who may or may not have served in the military and assessed the occurrence of MCI/dementia whether formally diagnosed or through self‐report. Result To date, we identified 135 articles without duplicates and of this, 83 (61.5%) were excluded based on their titles and a further 27 articles (20%) were excluded after reviewing their abstracts. We are currently working on this review and aim to have the full findings before the conference. Conclusion The potential implication of the findings could influence how health professionals utilise occupation data to identify dementia. Beyond the scientific community, the findings will raise awareness and promote health among veterans and carers.