4. Sex and Gender
According to research, there are more women than men struggling with dementia. While the risk of mental disorders is about the same for both groups, women tend to live longer than men, so that’s mostly why there are currently more dementia cases in women.
Things change a bit for women over 80, who indeed have a slightly higher risk of developing mental disorders than men their age. The reason for that is still unclear. It may be due to the differences in the lifestyles of these women and men, which have affected their level of risk in the long run.
For instance, women over 80 may have had less access to work opportunities or education than men their age. Aside from gender, it’s thought that levels of reproductive hormones around the time of menopause may increase women’s risk of dementia.
When a woman goes through menopause, her levels of progesterone and estrogen fall. Some experts have suggested that the earlier this happens, the higher the woman’s risk of dementia. Yet, we still need more evidence to support this theory.
