Women Hit Harder by Some Dementia Risk Factors, Study Finds

A study of 17,182 adults found that certain dementia risk factors have a larger negative impact on women’s cognition than men’s, and that women accumulate more risk factors over life. Depression, inactivity, and sleep problems are more common in women, while hearing loss, diabetes, and heavy alcohol use are more common in men. High blood pressure, hearing loss, and diabetes were linked to greater cognitive decline in women, and higher BMI affected women in their 50s–60s. Conversely, years of education and total cholesterol showed positive associations with cognition. The results suggest sex-specific prevention strategies, though causality can’t be proven, and note that two-thirds of US Alzheimer’s patients are women.