When it comes to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), women are more likely to have the disease than men. In fact, women represent two-thirds of Americans with AD today and according to the Alzheimer’s Association, it’s estimated that 16% of women have AD (and other types of dementia) compared to only 11% in men.
Recent scientific studies are beginning to solve the puzzle as to why that is.
Historically, experts believed that women were more prone to AD because they were exposed to less education (which is protective against AD), and they live longer than men. More recently, those theories are beginning to be challenged.
One study suggested that memory skills in women with mild cognitive impairment MCI declined two times as fast as they did in men. Duke University undergraduate, Katherine Lin conducted the study. Lin used information from neuroimaging to examine changes in cognitive ability in 400 participants with MCI to see how those changes manifested over an 8 year time span. According to Lin; “There may be a greater biological vulnerability” to Alzheimer’s in women
Some factors that are highly suspect to be the culprits of an increased risk of AD in women include: changes in estrogen levels after menopause, genetics, and the rate at which brain cells in women die-according to Lin and Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, director of Neurocognitive Disorders Program at Duke University.
Studies on estrogen’s effect on the brain indicate that it’s possible that taking estrogen early in menopause may help protect the brain, while late estrogen administration could possibly cause more harm than good. Estrogen is thought to reduce amyloid accumulation in the brain and according to Lin, the quick decline of the hormone during menopause may increase a woman’s risk of the disease.
Many questions remain about the reason women are more likely to get AD than men. It’s clear that more research is necessary at this point. The Alzheimer’s Association has launched a new initiative called the “Women’s Alzheimer’s Research Initiative” to raise money to continue to find answers.
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