Women are twice as exposed to the risk of suffering from dementia compared to men, and hormonal factors contribute to this situation.
The risk of suffering from dementia is double in the case of women compared to that of men, according to a study published in 2018 by the scientific journal SAGE Journals. Over time, it was believed that this link between the prevalence of dementia cases and gender is due to the fact that women live longer. According to the theory, a longer life offers more time for the degenerative manifestations of the brain to manifest.
However, recent neurological research has shown that other biological mechanisms seem to play a more important role than age and reproductive factors, such as pregnancy and menopause, reports Mind Body Green.
Women’s hormonal risks
An extensive study conducted in 2022 and published by PLOS Medicine analyzed the hormonal factors that increase the risk of dementia in women. They identified four risk factors:
– Surgical removal of reproductive organs: women who have undergone an operation to remove the uterus or ovaries have a 12% and 7% higher risk of suffering from dementia than those who have not undergone such interventions.
– The age at which the first menstrual cycle occurs: women who had their first period before the age of 12 or after the age of 14 have an approximately 20% higher risk of suffering from dementia than those whose period occurred at the age of 13.
– Pregnancy: women who have been pregnant at least once are 85% less likely to suffer from dementia than those who have never been pregnant.
– The age at which they gave birth to their first child: women who gave birth for the first time before the age of 21 have a 43% higher risk of suffering from dementia than those who had their first birth at the age of 25-26.
The link between the health of the reproductive system and the risk of dementia
Lisa Mosconi, associate director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College, explained that reproductive hormones play an important role in protecting the brain against the aloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
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“We tend to think that testosterone and estrogen are involved in reproduction, in conceiving children. But in reality these hormones have many other effects in our brain. In particular, they effectively pressure the neurons to obtain glucose to produce energy. So if you have a high level of hormones, the energy level in the brain is high. But testosterone does not decrease very much over time, while in women estrogen decreases quite a lot when they go through menopause”, said Mosconi.
This reduction in estrogen levels in the brain makes women more vulnerable when they reach menopause between the ages of 40 and 50.
“If you think of these hormones as superpowers of the brain, women run out of them around the time menopause sets in, right? And the brain becomes a little more vulnerable”, explained the expert.
Like menopause, the removal of the uterus or ovaries also has the effect of drastically reducing the level of estrogen in the body. Other periods of hormonal changes, such as puberty or pregnancy, influence the level of estrogen, which explains why hormonal factors contribute more to the increased risk of dementia in the case of some women, while others do not face this danger.
How brain longevity can be supported
Many of the healthy habits for the brain that we already know (restful sleep, physical activity) contribute a lot to protecting the health of this organ. Regarding nutrition, Mosconi recommends the Mediterranean diet.
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Women who have a genetic predisposition to dementia, who show early signs of cognitive decline or who have one of the hormonal risks listed above should consider consulting an endocrinologist and/or neurologist.
Supplements with a neuroprotective role can help improve cognitive functions. Citicoline contributes to the protection of brain health, being recommended for women after menopause and beyond this phase.
Photo: Freepik.com
2023-07-14 05:50:51
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