Women Diagnosed With Cognitive Decline Later Than Men

One in five women will get Alzheimer’s disease in their lifetime. For men, it’s one in ten. Understanding this difference in gender and Alzheimer’s disease is the subject of much research and debate. Some theories include the loss of protective estrogen after menopause and the simple fact that women, in general, live longer lives than men. (Age is the primary risk factor for Alzheimer’s.)

A recent study from the University of Illinois Center for Research on Women and Gender found that among men and women with similar levels of amyloid (the sticky protein that surrounds neurons in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease), women scored significantly higher on verbal tests of delayed recall (i.e., recalling a list of words that were recited at an earlier point in time) than their male counterparts.

Why is this significant? Women tended to score better than men even though the stage of disease was similar between men and women. If women do better on these tests that aim to diagnose early stages of dementia, they are more likely to score high enough on memory tests to pass, despite the presence of disease, leading to diagnoses at more advanced stages and potentially more rapid declines upon diagnoses.

Timing is essential to diagnosing cognitive decline in early stages, as this typically precedes the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. The earlier the problem is detected, the more opportunities to slow its progress with medications and lifestyle interventions. And, research shows that lifestyle interventions undertaken before symptoms of cognitive decline develop (like a Mediterranean diet, regular aerobic exercise, and achieving quality sleep) can improve cognition and lower risk.

We encourage women -- and men -- who are worried about their brain health to talk to their doctors or neurologists specializing in brain health about ways to improve brain health and reduce the risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.