You are in > manchester.com  > News > Study says Alzheimer's disease risks are gender specific

Health

Study says Alzheimer's disease risks are gender specific

01/05/2008

The risks for Alzheimer's disease differ between men and women, scientists claim today.

A study published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry says that stroke is a critical factor for men while depression is for women.

French researchers studied 7,000 people over the age of 65 living in three French cities.

At the start of the study none had dementia but about 40 per cent were deemed to have mildly impaired mental agility (mild cognitive impairment).

Participants were assessed two and four years later.

Nearly seven in ten of those deemed to be cognitively impaired developed dementia over the next four years.

Risk factors differed between the sexes, according to the study.

Men with mild cognitive impairment were more likely to be overweight, diabetic and to have had a stroke.

The research also found that cognitive impairment in men who had had a stroke was almost three times as likely to progress to dementia.

Women with mild cognitive impairment were more likely to be in poorer general health, disabled, suffering from insomnia and to have a poor support network.

Cognitive impairment in females unable to perform routine daily tasks was 3.5 times as likely to progress to dementia, while it was twice as likely to do so in those who were depressed.

The researchers conclude that their findings "should be taken into account in the development of gender-specific clinical intervention programmes for mild cognitive impairment".