According to the US Alzheimer’s Association, 4.5 million of the 7.4 million people aged 65 and over with the disease are women, and a 65-year-old woman has a 1 in 5 chance of developing it over the rest of her life. A 2018 Nature Reviews Neurology review notes that in the early stages of the disease women appear relatively protected, but later they tend to show steeper cognitive decline and faster brain atrophy than men. There is also growing evidence that women and men differ in their vulnerability to the APOE-4 gene variant.
The good news: the brain stays plastic
In a randomised trial of 120 older adults, aerobic exercise increased the volume of the hippocampus, which is key for memory, by 2%. The authors estimated that this was equivalent to reversing about 1–2 years of age-related loss, and spatial memory also improved.
What this means for you
- Brain health in midlife is an investment in the future.
- Regular aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, is one of the best-studied ways to support memory.
- If Alzheimer’s runs in your family, discuss it with your doctor.
Sources
- Alzheimer’s Association. Women and Alzheimer’s. alz.org
- Ferretti M. T., Iulita M. F., Cavedo E. et al. (2018). Sex differences in Alzheimer disease – the gateway to precision medicine. Nature Reviews Neurology, 14(8), 457–469. doi:10.1038/s41582-018-0032-9
- Erickson K. I., Voss M. W., Prakash R. S. et al. (2011). Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. PNAS, 108(7), 3017–3022. doi:10.1073/pnas.1015950108