Severe strokes significantly increase the risk of progressive dementia

As stroke severity increases, the risk of progressive cognitive decline and dementia substantially escalates, according to a national study led by Michigan Medicine researchers.

People with the most severe strokes had five times higher odds of developing dementia and showed cognitive decline equivalent to being more than two years older at baseline compared with people who did not have a stroke.

"Stroke severity strongly affects thinking and memory after stroke," said senior author Deborah A. Levine, M.D., M.P.H., professor of internal medicine and neurology at the University of Michigan Medical School.

"Our findings highlight the need to closely monitor cognition and aggressively treat dementia risk factors in all stroke survivors, especially those with severe strokes."