The Risk of Traumatic Brain Injury Occurring Among Patients with Parkinson Disease: A 14-Year Population-Based Study

Previous studies have implicated traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a risk factor for Parkinson disease (PD). However, the incidence risk of new-onset TBI among patients with PD is not well established. This study investigated the contribution of PD to new-onset TBI associations.

The study selected 6076 patients with PD and using 1:2 propensity score matching 12,152 general population cohorts in a longitudinal population database in Taiwan. The Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to estimate the hazard ratio of TBI adjusted with the potential confounding factors.

The incidence of TBI in patients with PD (2.57%) and compared cohorts (1.81%) was significantly different (P = 0.0007). Patients with PD had a higher risk of TBI (hazard ratio, 1.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.32-2.01) compared with the general population. Patients with PD with TBI incidence had a higher Charlson Comorbidity Index than did the general population with TBI (P < 0.0001). Fall is the major cause of TBI in patients with PD.

This study shows that patients with PD have a high risk of TBI, and the major cause of TBI in patients with PD is fall.