“Why Do More Women Get Alzheimer’s?” It’s Not Just Because We Live Longer…
George Washington Law Professor Naomi Cahn alerted us to the Washington Post coverage on new research analyzing causation factors to explain why 2/3 of all persons with Alzheimer’s Disease are women. Lots of opportunities here for important classroom discussions:
“It has long been known that more women than men get the deadly neurodegenerative disease, and an emerging body of research is challenging the common wisdom as to why. Although the question is by no means settled, recent findings suggest that biological, genetic and even cultural influences may play heavy roles…..
Because advancing age is considered the biggest risk factor for the disease, researchers largely have attributed that disparity to women’s longer life spans. The average life expectancy for women is 81 years, compared with 76 for men. Yet ‘even after taking age into account, women are more at risk,’ said Richard Lipton, a physician who heads the Einstein Aging Study at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
The area of inquiry has been growing in part because of a push by female Alzheimer’s researchers, who have formed a group to advocate for a larger leadership role in the field and more gender-specific research. ‘Scientific workforce diversity is very important because it’s much more likely to shape the research agenda,’ said Hannah Valantine, the chief officer for scientific workforce diversity at the National Institutes of Health and a professor at Stanford University’s medical school.
Running counter to the longevity argument, Lipton’s research suggests that women who are 70 to 79 years old are twice as likely as men the same age to develop Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. After 80, the risk is identical and remains similar throughout the rest of life, Lipton said.”
For more on emerging issues and indictors, see “Why Do More Women Get Alzheimer’s?” by Frederick Kunkle. Thanks, Naomi!