MADISON, Wis. — A new study from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UWSMPH) found links between military service and Alzheimer’s disease.
“The brains of deceased military veterans had higher levels of two abnormal proteins considered hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease,” officials said. “Suggesting that military veterans face a greater risk for developing Alzheimer’s.”
Dr. Ryan Powell, an assistant professor of medicine at UWSMPH, led the study, which was recently published in “Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of Alzheimer’s Association.”
“To our knowledge, this is the first study to link a history of military service to Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology, the gold standard for diagnosing Alzheimer’s,” Powell said. “This has important implications for the Veterans Health Administration since it indicates an urgent need to screen veterans and to target therapies to those at greatest risk.”
According to a news release, the study researched brain biopsy data from almost 600 males who died between 1986 and 2018 and donated their brains to Alzheimer’s disease research centers at the UWSMPH and the University of California San Diego.
Researchers determined that 358 of the males had served in the military. These veterans most likely served during the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War eras.
The study found that the 358 male veterans had 26% greater odds of having amyloid plaques in their brains than nonveterans and 10% greater odds of having neurofibrillary tangles made of abnormal tau proteins. These findings point to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease among veterans.
Officials said studying risk among female veterans is a key next step. With only a few female veterans represented in the current study, researchers could not conduct this analysis.
“This study is shining new light on data that’s been collected over decades,” Powell said. “We identified the who and the what in this study, but we need to narrow in on the why and the when.”
Powell said veterans are exposed to many known risks for brain disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. These include chronic stress from physical and psychological pain, physical trauma including traumatic brain injuries and environmental hazards, such as Agent Orange.
He added that veterans have higher rates of cardiovascular disease, depression and PTSD. These are all identified as risk factors for dementia.
Powell said he hopes to expand the study in an effort to learn more and help veterans.
“We might be able to uncover other factors and learn where risks can be reduced,” he said. “And with new Alzheimer’s therapies coming online, there’s a need for scientific-based health equity policies to get them to those who might benefit most. It’s exciting that this ongoing line of research can inform policy changes that improve the health of veterans.”