Why do women develop dementia more often than men? Elizabeth Tracey reports

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Roughly two times as many women will develop Alzheimer’s disease as men, and Halima Amjad, a dementia expert at Johns Hopkins, says no one really knows the reason why.

Amjad: Why Alzheimer's disease and dementias are more common in women, there's a couple of theories and thoughts on is that age is the biggest risk factor for dementia and women live longer. But that doesn't entirely explain the differences that we see between men and women. There's some studies looking for their biological factors that might be the difference, the differences in brain structure and functional connections or what some scientists will call brain architecture. There's interest in hormones, particularly estrogen.  :30

Amjad says studies looking specifically at giving estrogen to older women who are postmenopausal have not provided a clear benefit with regard to reducing the risk for dementia. Risk factors that are known and can be controlled are high blood pressure and high cholesterol, so knowing your numbers and taking medicines if necessary can help in reducing dementia risk. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.