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According to the World Alzheimer Report 2016, more than 47 million people worldwide live with dementia, which equates to more than the entire population of Spain.
In the United States alone, 5.5 million live with the disease and 3.4 million of them are women. According to the Alzheimer's Association, women 60 years of age are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease as bad cancer.
Older age is the biggest risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, and women are often living longer than men. But age is not the only factor
Studies show that women tend to have more amyloid plaques than men of the same age and mental status; Other studies have shown that women with mild memory problems or undergoing surgery with anesthesia decrease faster than men.
And a Stanford study found that women with the ApoE-4 gene, a genetic risk factor, are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease as women without ApoE-4. However, men who wear ApoE-4 only have a slightly elevated risk.
What in women could increase their chances of developing dementia? An obvious goal for research has been hormones and the role of pregnancy. The results were mixed.
"In animals, early pregnancy was badociated with better cognition at the end of pregnancy and early postpartum with impaired cognition," Kim explains. In humans, estrogen is neuroprotective when it is moderately high whereas it is neurotoxic when it is extremely high. "
Pregnancy is a hormonal roller coaster.In the first trimester, estrogen levels increase modestly and then skyrocket for the rest of pregnancy.For the third trimester, Kim said, levels Estrogen levels can be "up to 40 times higher" than their peak levels during normal menstrual cycles.
Within four days after delivery, estrogen levels for Most at the same time, levels of progesterone and a stress hormone called cortisol increase rapidly during pregnancy, but they decrease after the baby is born.
According to Kim, these imbalances "Given that the majority Incomplete pregnancies occur during the first trimester of pregnancy, it is possible that moderately high rates of estrogen during the first trimester of pregnancy are within the optimal range of R
But too many births can do the opposite, Ki m said, continually exposing women to dramatically high levels of estrogen hormones and stress, followed by sudden withdrawals, which reduce brain reserve.
"The results are new and quite surprising," said MD neurologist Pinky Agarwal. Washington and member of the American Academy of Neurology who did not participate in the study. Previous studies have attributed the increased risk of Alzheimer's disease in women of five or more births to increased vascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure, obesity, high blood pressure, and high blood pressure. hypercholesterolemia and diabetes
. use of oral contraception, which also affects hormonal levels.
Overall, Agarwal said, the study badyzed a possible factor that contributes to the risk of Alzheimer's disease in women deserving of further study.
who leads the global scientific initiatives for the Alzheimer Association, agrees with the need for more research. He believes that it is premature to suggest that hormones are the main culprit.
"There are other things that occur during pregnancy beyond a change in hormonal levels," he said. Immunity, a healthy or deficient diet, the level of exercise and the stress of being a father of five or more children can have an impact. Cultural differences can also play a role, as can access to health care. "
The underlying reason why women are more susceptible to Alzheimer's disease is likely to be multiple," said Hendrix, "and the science needs a better understanding." What these factors might be.
"The most important thing for women is that we need more research to understand why," she said. "Women do not wake up one day and have Alzheimer's disease. Brain health is a life course, and we need to understand how our brains are affected by what we do early in life and throughout our lives. "
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