According to a new study led by the George Institute for Global Health, they found that life events can affect the female hormone estrogen. It can also increase a woman’s risk of developing dementia. The findings were published in the journal PLoS Medicine.Also read – Randhir Kapoor makes it clear that he does not suffer from dementia: Ranbir Kapoor has the right to say what he wants
The analysis also found that some reproductive phenomena – such as early or late onset of menstruation, early menopause and hysterectomy – were associated with a higher risk of dementia when ever pregnant or having an abortion and later menopause was associated with a lower risk. Also read – Putin may suffer from dementia, Parkinson’s disease: report
But a similar relationship was found between the number of children and the risk of dementia in men and women, but childbirth was not one of them. Also read – Can a plant-based diet reduce the risk of cognitive impairment in the elderly? A study reveals
Jessica Gong, lead author of the George Institute for Global Health, said that although it was found that reproductive events related to changes in hormone levels in women may be involved in the risk of dementia, the exact relationship was still unknown.
“While the risk of dementia increases with age, we do not yet know that the high rates seen in women are simply because they live longer,” explained Ms. Gong.
“But it is possible that female-specific reproductive factors may explain some of the sex differences,” she added.
Dementia is rapidly becoming a global epidemic, currently affecting an estimated 50 million people worldwide. This is projected to triple by 2050 – mainly driven by the elderly population. Both the rate of dementia and its associated mortality are found to be higher in women than in men.
Estradiol is the dominant form of estrogen during reproductive life (from the onset of menstruation to menopause) and estriol is the primary estrogen during pregnancy.
The use of hormones produced outside the body, such as oral contraceptives during the reproductive years, and later in life hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can also affect estrogen levels.
To examine these relationships in more detail, researchers at the George Institute analyzed data from a total of 273,240 women without dementia who were enrolled in a large biomedical database UK Biobank.
After adjusting to other factors that may affect outcomes, they found that the following factors are associated with an increased risk of dementia:
Early and late first occurrence of menstruation, young age at first birth, and hysterectomy – especially without surgical removal of one or both ovaries, or if hysterectomy is performed after ovarian removal.
In contrast, the factors associated with risk reduction were sometimes pregnancy, sometimes abortion, prolonged reproductive life, and later menopause.
“In terms of external hormones, the use of oral contraceptive pills was associated with a lower risk of dementia, but our study findings do not support a link between HRT and the risk of dementia,” said Ms. Gong.
The authors suggested that risk variability in women may not be associated with childbirth because the same study found similar patterns between the same number of children born to men and the risk of dementia.
“We found that the high dementia risk associated with early (natural and artificial) menopause is more pronounced in women of lower socioeconomic status,” she added.
“Social deprivation can be an important determinant of the risk of dementia as well as other aspects of women’s health,” she concluded.
Dementia is on the rise and in the absence of significant success in treatment, the focus has been on reducing the risk of developing the disease.
“Further research is needed to understand whether these differences are associated with lifelong exposure to the body’s own estrogen and whether the use of external hormones may affect the risk of developing dementia,” Ms. Gong added.
“Our findings may be helpful in identifying high-risk women to participate in future clinical trials to evaluate potential preventive measures and treatments,” she concluded.
(With ANI inputs)
