Women in many cohorts have a higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of dementia. Sex is a biological construct whereby differences in disease manifestation and prevalence are rooted in genetic differences between XX and XY combinations of chromosomes.
The sex difference in AD prevalence may exist because of systematic and historic differences in risk and protective factors for dementia, including level of education obtained and socioeconomic status differences, which can impact on health and dementia risk.
Levels of sex steroids decline significantly after menopause in women, whereas this is more gradual in men with age. Animal and cell culture studies show strong biological plausibility for sex steroids to protect the ageing brain against dementia.
It could be the case that the decline in sex steroids around the menopause make women more susceptible to lifestyle-related risk factors associated with dementia and CVD, but this remains to be further investigated.
By Galina Toktalieva
Author, photographer