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Heart conditions, diabetes and high cholesterol: women more at risk than men of suffering a decline in brain function because of them, research suggests
- Heart conditions, high cholesterol, diabetes and other risk factors may be linked to a decline in memory and thinking skills in midlife
- Although more men have these heart conditions, a study suggests women who have them are at a greater risk of suffering from dementia
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Heart conditions such as coronary artery disease and cardiovascular risk factors including diabetes and high cholesterol have a stronger association with decline in memory and thinking skills during midlife for women than men – despite a higher prevalence of those conditions in men – a study from the US Mayo Clinic suggests.
“It is well known that men, compared to women, have a higher prevalence of cardiovascular conditions and risk factors in midlife. However, our study suggests that women in midlife with these conditions and risk factors are at greater risk of cognitive decline,” says Michelle Mielke, a Mayo Clinic epidemiologist and neuroscientist, and senior author of the study, which was published in the journal Neurology.
“While all men and women should be treated for cardiovascular conditions and risk factors in midlife, additional monitoring of women may be needed as a potential means of preventing cognitive decline.”
The research used the population-based Mayo Clinic Study of ageing and included 1,857 participants without dementia who were aged 50 to 69 at their initial visit. Of the participants, 920 were men and 937 were women.
Every 15 months for an average of three years, the participants’ global cognition was evaluated with nine tests of memory, language, executive function and spatial skills.
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