title: Prisoner of war status, posttraumatic stress disorder, and dementia in older veterans.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is not known whether prisoners of war (POWs) are more likely to develop dementia independently of the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective cohort study in 182,879 U.S. veterans age 55 years and older, and examined associations between POW status and PTSD at baseline (October 1, 2000-September 30, 2003), and incident dementia during follow-up (October 1, 2003-September 30, 2012).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 484 veterans (0.3%) reported being POWs, of whom 150 (31.0%) also had PTSD. After adjusting for demographics, medical and psychiatric comorbidities, period of service, and the competing risk of death, the risk of dementia was increased in veterans who were POWs only (hazard ratio [HR], 1.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.30-1.98) or had PTSD only (HR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.41-1.64) and was greatest in veterans who were POWs and also had PTSD (HR, 2.24; 95% CI, 1.72-2.92).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  POW status and PTSD increase risk of dementia in an independent, additive manner in older veterans.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Meziab
authors.affiliation: Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Katharine A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Kirby
authors.affiliation: Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Brie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yaffe
authors.affiliation: San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Amy L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Byers
authors.affiliation: San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA. Electronic address: Deborah.barnes@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Deborah E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Barnes
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016208:Databases, Factual; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D063906:Prisoners of War; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014728:Veterans
keywords: Aged; Dementia; POW; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Risk factors; Veterans