Recent research suggests that the chances of developing Alzheimer’s Disease are different for men and women, with stroke in men and depression in women being key elements.
The research was conducted in France, among 7,000 people aged 65 and over, drawn from the general population. While none of the participants had dementia, some 40% had mild cognitive impairment. Four years later 6.5% of those displaying mild cognitive impairment had developed dementia, while no change was noted in just over half. About one third returned to normal cognitive ability.
The move from cognitive impairment to dementia however, was marked among subjects taking anticholinergic drugs for depression. A variation in the ApoE gene, a known risk factor for dementia, was also more common among those whose mild cognitive impairment progressed.
The results demonstrated that men with mild cognitive impairment were probably overweight and diabetic, and to have suffered a stroke. In fact, male stroke victims were three times as likely to progress from cognitive impairment to dementia.
Women with mild cognitive impairment had poorer general health, were disabled, and suffered from insomnia, besides having an inadequate support group. They were also unable to perform the daily tasks that would enable them to live alone without assistance. It was judged they were 3.5 times as likely to develop dementia, while those suffering from depression were twice as likely to do so. Stroke was not a risk factor for women, although there was similar rate of occurrence in men and women.
Source: Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychology, 2008; doi 10.1136/jnnp.2007.136903
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