New study reveals: This is why women suffer from dementia more often than men

Created: 09/01/2023, 16:30

By: Fabian Pieper

A study provides an explanation for why the majority of Alzheimer's patients are women.

© Simon Dawson/dpa/symbol image

Two out of three dementia patients in Germany are women.

A new study now provides an explanation as to why this is the case.

Berlin – It starts insidiously, mostly in old age, but is then unstoppable and a great burden for the sick, relatives and carers: According to the German Alzheimer Society (DAlzG), more than 1.8 million people in Germany suffer from Alzheimer's.

More than 400,000 people worldwide contract the disease every year, which often starts with inconspicuous symptoms.

About 1.2 million of the sick in Germany are women - the vast majority, reports kreiszeitung.de.

Until now, science had assumed that the reason for this was the longer life expectancy of women;

on average, they live four to five years longer than men and have a correspondingly greater risk of developing dementia in old age.

However, the differences cannot be explained by the longer life expectancy alone.

However, a Chinese study could now close this gap.

Dementia: This could be the reason why women are more likely to suffer from it

Because it had already been suspected that the fact could have hormonal reasons.

Researchers from China took up this thesis and found that a change in a specific protein in the brain could cause dementia - the so-called C3 protein.

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Actually, this protein is part of the immune system and is supposed to identify pathogens in the body.

Sometimes, however, it causes the immune system to attack intact nerve cells in the brain.

This has been known for some time, but the study brought new things to light.

Conspicuous protein mutates in estrogen deficiency

As part of the study, the scientists examined the brains of men and women suffering from and dying of dementia.

This was compared to those of people who did not have dementia.

The researchers found that the C3 protein was found in a mutated form much more frequently in the brains of the female dementia patients than in the other subjects.

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These are the risk factors for dementia

• deafness

• Low level of education at a young age

• Smoking

• Social isolation/depression

• head and brain injuries

• High blood pressure

• lack of exercise

• air pollution

• diabetes

• overweight

• alcohol consumption

According to the research report, the fact that the protein changes could be due to the drop in estrogen levels with age.

Because he is responsible for protecting the C3 protein from mutation.

Accordingly, according to the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA), hormone therapy started soon after the onset of menopause can reduce the risk of dementia - but it can also increase it if it is started late.

But these findings are not undisputed.

Currently, people with dementia are looking to the USA.

A new drug has been approved there in an urgent procedure, which is intended to slow down the progression of the disease in the early stages.

You can find out whether you yourself belong to the risk group for dementia with a simple test.

By the way: Dogs can also get dementia.