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The ℇ4 allele of the APOE gene is associated with reduced cognitive function and with dementias like Alzheimer disease. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is also associated with cognitive difficulties, including dementia. Both are associated with brain changes on imaging (e.g., frontal and hippocampal volume loss). These researchers examined whether PTSD compounds the effects of the ℇ4 allele on cognitive function in a cohort of 1386 U.S. white, trauma-exposed military veterans (mean age, 63; 93% men) and a similar replication sample of veterans (n=509).
Analyses controlled for age, sex, combat experience, cumulative trauma burden, whether the trauma was assaultive, depression, substance use disorder, and ancestry proportion scores. Both…