Alzheimer's: depression, sedentariness and sleep alarm signals for women

The numbers speak for themselves. Women are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and other forms of cognitive impairment, accounting for almost two-thirds of cases. They also show a faster initial course than men. Several factors may account for the greater biological vulnerability of the female gender: e.g. longer life expectancy, hormonal factors, the more rapid accumulation of tau and amyloid deposit proteins, the heavier impact of genetic risk factors. But beware. If little can be done about these aspects, there are instead gender-specific danger elements on which preventive action is possible, with a particular focus on women. This is stated by research conducted by experts at the University of California, San Diego (first name Megan Fitzhugh), coordinated by Judy Pa and published in Biology of Sex Differences.

The overseas scholars examined information on 13 different risk factors (e.g. level of education, hearing loss, smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, hypertension, diabetes and other cardiometabolic diseases) in a population of more than 17,000 adults included in the Health and Retirement Study. "These factors, codified in the international literature, are the key to cognitive impairment prevention approaches and brain health strategies," reports Matteo Pardini, lecturer at the Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics and Maternal and Child Sciences - DINOGMI of the University of Genoa - Azienda Ospedaliera Metropolitana Genovese.

The analysis of these data revealed that depression was more frequent in women than in men (17% compared to 9% in men), as were sedentariness (48% compared to 42%) and sleep difficulties (45% compared to 40%). Finally, a slightly lower average level of education was found in the female gender, a possible risk factor for subsequent cognitive decline.

On the other hand, other risk factors were more frequently observed in the male population: hearing loss (64% compared to 50% in women), diabetes (24% compared to 21%), alcohol abuse (22% compared to 12%). Practically equal, finally, is the situation for hypertension (we are around 60% of the survey population) and body mass index: the average BMI for both sexes was in the overweight-obesity range. Caution, however: deficiencies in cardiac and metabolic health showed stronger negative associations with cognitive function in women. Hearing loss and diabetes, although more common in men, were also found to be associated with lower cognitive scores in women.

In short: not only are certain modifiable risk factors more frequent in women than in men, but the same risk factor for cognitive impairment may not affect everyone in the same way, with moderate cognitive effects in men but heavy influences on women's brain well-being. 'These differences highlight the importance of considering gender as a key variable in dementia research,' is Pa's comment in a University of California note. 'Gender differences are profoundly overlooked in many of the leading causes of death such as Alzheimer's, heart disease and cancer. In short: rather than focusing unspecifically on risk factors in general, when it comes to modifiable elements, according to the experts, it would be important to prioritise those that seem to have the greatest cognitive impact for males and females.