On Sept. 30, 2024, a research team reported that emerging evidence suggested that mild cognitive impairment, which is a precursor to Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD), places older adults at increased risk for falls. However, the risk that an older adult develops dementia after experiencing a fall is unknown.

The cohort study involved 2,453,655 older adults who sustained an injury, 10.6% of patients who experienced a fall were subsequently diagnosed with dementia within 1 year. Compared with other injury mechanisms, falling was associated with a 21% increased risk for future dementia diagnosis after controlling for potential confounders while accounting for the competing risk of death..

In this cohort study, new ADRD diagnoses were more common after falls compared with other mechanisms of injury, with 10.6% of older adults being diagnosed with ADRD in the first year after a fall. To improve the early identification of ADRD, this study’s findings suggested support for the implementation of cognitive screening in older adults who experience an injurious fall that results in an ED visit or hospital admission. The study was published in JAMA.