Effects of Aging on TBI Recovery

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic (Testa JA et al. 2005) confirmed again what was previously known – that age adversely affects recovery from TBI. Findings show that older patients with TBI have a greater likelihood of becoming physically and financially dependent on others. Older TBI patients were more likely to have changes in employment status compared with younger patients. An earlier study had compared TBI patients over 60, and limited to patients with only mild TBI, they showed the same improvement and functional status as the patients under 60. Therefore, the age difference appears to be more significant as the injury goes from mild into the moderate and severe categories.