Trigeminal Neuralgia Is a Dementia Risk Factor: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Yung-Han Cheng, Chieh-Hsin Wu, Wei-Ting Wang, Ying-Yi Lu and Ming-Kung Wu
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Yung-Han Cheng: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
Chieh-Hsin Wu: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan
Wei-Ting Wang: Department of Radiology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei City 11490, Taiwan
Ying-Yi Lu: Department of Dermatology, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung 813, Taiwan
Ming-Kung Wu: Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 10, 1-10

Abstract: Background : Dementia, a worldwide public-health issue, is regarded as a disorder rather than a normal aging process. Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a chronic debilitating pain disorder that impairs daily activities. Both are most prevalent in females and in patients older than 50 years. Recent studies reveal that pain and dementia may have a reciprocal interaction with each other. Objective : In response, we estimated whether adults with TN have an increased dementia risk. Methodology : By means of Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database, between 1996 and 2010, 762 patients aged over 50 years in the TN group were matched with 3048 patients in the non-TN group at a ratio of 1:4. Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazard regression models were also used to determine the cumulative incidence and compare the hazard ratios of dementia in each group. Results : The incidence of dementia was higher in the TN group compared to the non-TN group. After adjusting for covariates, the TN group had a 4.47-fold higher risk of dementia compared to the non-TN group. Additionally, the impact of TN on dementia risk was larger in young-aged patients than in old-aged patients. As well, the age at the time of dementia diagnosis was younger in the TN group compared to the non-TN group. Conclusions : TN is a dementia risk factor. Given the lack of a curative therapy for dementia, early identification of TN patients may help to prevent dementia sequelae.

Keywords: dementia; trigeminal neuralgia; risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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