Women are more likely than men to develop dementia. In fact, almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women.
So why do women develop dementia more than men?
This is a field that gets a lot of research attention, and researchers still aren’t sure of all the factors. But five keep showing up in the research. Here they are.
1. Women Live Longer, and Age Is the Biggest Risk Factor
The first reason is longevity. Women live longer than men, and age is the biggest risk factor for dementia.
That means the longer you live, the higher your risk of developing dementia. Because women live longer, more of them develop it.
That one’s pretty simple.
2. Genetics: Why the APOE4 Gene Affects Women Differently
The second reason is the role genetics play. We know the APOE4 gene places someone at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
And for some reason, women who carry this gene have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s than men who carry the same gene.
The reason for this difference is unclear. One thought is that hormones may play into it. Which brings me to reason number three.
3. Menopause, Estrogen and Alzheimer’s Risk
When women go through menopause, their estrogen decreases. And estrogen actually has some neuroprotective qualities, meaning it helps protect the brain.
So it’s possible that the loss of estrogen is increasing women’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
4. Heart Health and Dementia Risk in Women
Heart health matters for both men and women. People who have heart problems are at greater risk of dementia.
But in women, a few different things are going on in the body that put them at particularly high risk:
- Women have a higher rate of developing high blood pressure after menopause, and high blood pressure is a risk factor for dementia.
- Women who have diabetes have a higher rate of heart problems than men who have diabetes. Both diabetes and heart problems are risk factors for dementia.
- After menopause, women start to see an increase in their bad cholesterol and a decrease in their good cholesterol. That increases their dementia risk.
- We know smoking is a risk factor. For whatever reason, smoking affects women more and leads to hardening of the arteries, which is also a risk factor for dementia.
So while this fourth reason is about the heart, it’s tangled up with all of these other conditions too.
5. Social and Lifestyle Factors: Depression, Loneliness and Caregiver Stress
The fifth and final reason is social and lifestyle factors. Women are more likely to experience anxiety, depression and loneliness, which can lead to a greater risk of dementia.
I go further into the anxiety research in the surprising link between anxiety and dementia.
We also know women are more often the caregivers. And caregivers often deal with a significant amount of stress, anxiety and sleep problems.
I imagine that is also adding to their dementia risk. The research I looked at didn’t specifically name caregiving as one of the reasons. But I believe it’s one of them.
Taking Care of Your Brain Health
Here’s the thing. Taking care of your brain health matters whether you’re a man or a woman. It’s important to do what we can to keep our brains as healthy as possible.
I walk through what the research says you can do in 14 ways to cut your dementia risk in half.
Taking care of yourself while you take care of someone else is hard to do on your own. Inside the Care Collective, we come together every week to talk about how to take care of ourselves and how to take care of our loved ones in the best way possible, with support, ideas and strategies to make caregiving as easy and as joyful as it can be. You can learn more here.
Sources & References
Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures
