Early Menopause, Hormones & Other Female Alzheimer's Disease Risk Factors

Evidence suggests postmenopausal women are at much higher risk compared to men of the same age, and in a cross-sectional study published in JAMA Neurology this week, researchers from Mass General Brigham discovered other hormonal factors can increase women's risk of developing dementia2 even further.

The study analyzed 292 cognitively unimpaired men and women enrolled in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention between 2006 and 2021. The average age of participants during their tau PET scan was 67.

As Lisa Mosconi, Ph.D., neuroscientist, nutritionist, and associate director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College, previously explained in a mindbodygreen podcast episode, reproductive hormones help protect our brains from the development of amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease. As women hit menopause, their estrogen levels plummet, leaving their brains more susceptible to dementia.

Here are some other ways that women can help prevent dementia:

It's been well established that women are more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, but research from JAMA Neurology shows that hormonal health factors—including the timing of menopause and hormone therapy—play a part in the development of cognitive decline.