London - Women with the early signs of dementia suffer mental decline twice as fast as men, researchers have found.
Their memory functions, attention span and problem solving abilities all deteriorate much quicker, suggesting gender may have a fundamental impact on how our brains age.
Previous studies have found women are more likely to be diagnosed with a form of dementia, but until now many experts suspected this was partially because women live longer than men.
According to the research, presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Washington DC, women diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) – commonly the first sign of dementia – display a decline in mental ability at twice the rate of men. A team from Duke University, North Carolina, tracked 400 people in their 70s for eight years after they were diagnosed with MCI, which is usually heralded by lapses in memory and concentration.
Though they could not determine exactly why women decline so much more quickly, lead researcher Katherine Amy Lin said the findings suggest that “men and women at risk for Alzheimer’s may be having two very different experiences”.
She added: “Our analyses show that women with mild memory impairments deteriorate at much faster rates than men in both cognitive and functional abilities.”
A separate study presented at the conference suggested women have higher levels than men of the protein amyloid, which clumps in the brain and is thought to be a key contributor to Alzheimer’s – the most common cause of dementia. Another, by the Oregon Health and Science University, found women are at a higher risk than men of long-term cognitive and functional problems after surgery.
More than 800 000 people in Britain are thought to have dementia, 61 percent of whom are women.
Dr Maria Carrillo, the Alzheimer’s Association chief scientific officer, said: “Women are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s and there is an urgent need to understand if differences in brain structure, disease progression and biological characteristics contributed to higher prevalence and rates of cognitive decline.
“To intervene and help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s it is critical to understand the reasons for these differences.”
Dr Doug Brown, director of research at the UK Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Considerably more women develop dementia in the Western world than men and this isn’t just because they live longer. This new research shows that women with memory problems experience faster rates of cognitive decline than men and are also more susceptible to developing dementia after surgery.Researchers are in the dark as to why this is.
“Future research to understand why these gender differences exist could help us develop and tailor treatments for men and women with the condition.”
Daily Mail