Women More Prone to Alzheimer's Risk in Their Lifetime Than Men

A new study led by an Indian origin researcher has estimated that one in six women and one in ten men are at the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease during their lifetime.

Sudha Seshadri, MD, led the study that was carried out at the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM).

As a part of the study, 2,794 participants without dementia of the Framingham Heart Study were followed for 29 years.

Over the course of the study, the researchers found 400 cases of dementia of all types and 292 cases of Alzheimer’s.

Based on this they estimated the lifetime risk of any dementia at more than one in five for women, and one in seven for men.

“The realization that the lifetime risk of stroke or dementia was more than one in three in both sexes, which is higher than the lifetime risk of coronary heart disease in women, is sobering,” said lead author Sudha Seshadri, MD, an associate professor of neurology at BUSM and an investigator of the Framingham Heart Study.

According to the researchers, the greater lifetime expectancy for women translates into a greater lifetime risk of several diseases.

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“People should be aware of the risk of a disease at some point in their life. Similarly, such statistics are essential for public health planners to estimate the projected disease burden in a population during its expected lifespan,” adds Seshadri.

The findings have been released by the Alzheimer’s Association in their publication 2008 Alzheimer’s Disease: Facts and Figures.

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Source-ANI
SRM/L