Efforts to identify veterans at risk of dementia intensifying in Ohio
MilitaryTask Force urges earlier screening formemory issues.
Willie Norman Walker was a Korean War veteran who regularly read the newspaper, loved to do crossword puzzles every day that challenged his thinking, and as his wife, EdnaWalker, said, “was the smartest person I know.”
An Army weapons specialist from Georgia, Walker ended his military service in the 1950s. But during retirement, he started forgetting where he was putting things and “just to look at his face and see the disorientation I knew something was wrong,” Edna Walker said.
She took him to a Veterans Administration Medical Center to get checked. The diagnosis — vascular dementia. Walkerwas in his early 70s. “The VA was a big help to me. I called them, and I told them that my husband was a veteran and Iwant to get some help fromthe VA because he put his life on the line for us.”
In Ohio, efforts to identify veterans at risk of dementia and Alzheimer's are intensifying. In September, the Cleveland Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (CADRC) received a grant from the National Institute on Aging to specifically target and enroll veterans with mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's into dementia research. The data obtained will be put into a national repository for other researchers who want to study veterans and dementia.
“We're very excited. This is a unique opportunity. It takes advantageofsomeof the strengths that Ohio has in terms of veterans. Wright-Patterson is a great example. We really have an expertise of those resources that are sort of unique in the country,” said Dr. Martha Sajatovic, Outreach, Recruitment and Engagement Core Leader at the Cleveland Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.
It was recently estimated that 465,000veteransnationwidewere living with Alzheimer's disease, according to an U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs report. Veterans are at higher risk for dementia. Those with a traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder are 60 times more likely to develop dementia.
Ohio has about 877,000 veterans, according to the Ohio Department of Veterans Services. But in the Miami Valley, home to one of theUnited States Air Force's largest installations — Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — there are 200,000 veterans and a unique partnership betweenthe Alzheimer's Association, Wright-Patterson and the Dayton VA Medical Center that has existed for several years to identify veterans with cognitive issues and connect them to the Alzheimer's Association for education, care consultations and support. The task force also has a robust referral process for doctors to refer families to the Alzheimer's Association after diagnosis for ongoing education and help.
The region is a great example of the need nationwide. Half of the Dayton region's veterans are over age 65 and 20 percent have traumatic brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder. Increasing age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer's and other dementia.
“Our Military Task Force, whose members are either veterans themselves or they work with the veterans' population, are uniquely positioned to carry the message that veterans are more likely to get Alzheimer's or dementia and encourage their families to seek help,” said Eric VanVlymen, executive director of the Alzheimer's Association Miami Valley Chapter. “I really believe this model can be replicatedaroundthe stateandaround the nation. By building sustainable partnerships with our veterans' organizations we can work together to reach more people.”
Through efforts of the Alzheimer's Military Task Force, volunteers have conducted 35 educational programs and reached