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Concussions increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease by contributing to the buildup up amyloid plaques in the brain, a new study suggests.

"Interestingly, in people with a history of concussion, a difference in the amount of brain plaques was found only in those with memory and thinking problems, not in those who were cognitively normal," study author Michelle Mielke, PhD, with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said in a news release.

The latest study involved 448 people without any signs of memory problems and 141 people with people with memory and thinking problems called mild cognitive impairment. All participants were aged 70 or older and were asked if they had ever experienced a brain injury that involved any loss of consciousness or memory.

Researchers said that 17 percent of people reported a brain injury and 18 percent of the 141 with memory and thinking difficulties reported a concussion or head trauma.

The findings revealed that people with memory and thinking impairments and a history of head trauma had levels of amyloid plaques that were on average 18 percent higher than those with no head trauma history.

"Our results add merit to the idea that concussion and Alzheimer's disease brain pathology may be related," said Mielke. "However, the fact that we did not find a relationship in those without memory and thinking problems suggests that any association between head trauma and amyloid is complex."

The findings are published in the journal Neurology.