Learn to recognize the symptoms
Dementia is a cover term used for diseases that affect a person’s memory and cognitive function. Examples include Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
Worldwide there are more than 50 million people living with dementia, and, according to recent studies, that number is only set to rise.
When it comes to the risk factors for dementia, the key one is age. Indeed, the likelihood of developing dementia increases significantly as we get older.
However, statistics also show that one's sex also has a role to play, and that women seem to be much more affected than men.
In Australia, for example, studies show that nearly two-thirds of all dementia-related deaths are in women. In the US, two-thirds of people living with dementia are women.
In terms of why women are more likely to develop dementia, an important reason has to do with the other risk factor: age.
On average, women live longer than men. Given that the risk of dementia increases with age, and there are more older women than men, it follows that there are more women with dementia.
However, research suggests that there are also other reasons that women are more affected by dementia than men.
One of these other reasons is related to public health campaigns targeting heart disease and smoking, both of which are risk factors for dementia.
Since men tend to smoke more than women and suffer with heart disease from a younger age, researchers believe these campaigns may be more impactful, and therefore help reduce these risk factors further—for men.
Indeed, one recent study in the UK showed that a drop in the number of new dementia cases was driven by a fall in cases among men over 65.
At the same time, there are other risk factors for dementia that appear to affect women more than men.
For example, depression, which disproportionately affects women, has been linked with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Furthermore, there are certain female-only risk factors, such as surgical menopause and pregnancy complications, that have been linked with cognitive decline later in life.
There is even evidence to suggest that social roles, such as caregiving, may increase the chance that a person will develop dementia.
In the UK, for example, 60-70% of all unpaid caregivers taking care of someone with dementia are women.
In order to address the gap in dementia prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, scientists are working to understand more about female-specific risk factors.
In 2018, for example, the Women’s Brain Project published a major review that looked at a decade’s worth of scientific literature related to Alzheimer’s disease.
In most countries around the world, the majority of caregiving roles are assumed by women.
Scientists were asked to revise existing data and stratify it by sex for the first time ever.
According to Maria Teresa Ferretti, a biomedical researcher in the field of Alzheimer’s disease at the University of Zurich, some clear patterns emerged from the literature.
The most obvious differences were related to the display and progression of cognitive and psychiatric symptoms between men and women.
According to Ferretti, the findings from this study can be used to design new hypotheses and figure out better ways to treat dementia patients.
There are also calls for doctors to review the ways in which patients are tested for dementia and the ways in which the disease is diagnosed.
Indeed, research suggests that women perform better on initial diagnostic tests, and that this can have serious consequences for their diagnosis and treatment.
For example, a high performance on initial tests may lead to a missed diagnosis or an underestimation of the severity of the disease.
Finally, there is an argument that more women should be included in clinical trials if doctors are to find a more effective treatment.
Until now, there has generally been an almost even sex split, despite the fact that more women are affected by dementia than men.
It has been argued that, in order to find better treatments for dementia, the sex split in clinical trials should be more representative, as in trials for other diseases, such as depression and multiple sclerosis (MS).
Sources: (BBC)
See also: These heart issues could be early indicators of dementia risk
In January 2025, research was published that shows the number of dementia cases is on the rise. All over the world, people in the later stages of life are affected by this troubling disease, and more than 50% of them are women.
To a certain extent, the higher number of dementia cases in women can be explained by the fact that women tend to live longer than men. However, research suggests that there are also other factors to consider.
Curious? Check out this gallery to find out more.
Understanding why dementia affects women more than men
The gender gap is bigger than you might think
HEALTH Cognitive decline
In January 2025, research was published that shows the number of dementia cases is on the rise. All over the world, people in the later stages of life are affected by this troubling disease, and more than 50% of them are women.
To a certain extent, the higher number of dementia cases in women can be explained by the fact that women tend to live longer than men. However, research suggests that there are also other factors to consider.
Curious? Check out this gallery to find out more.