A new international study conducted by researchers from The George Institute for Global Health in Australia has found that socioeconomic disadvantages may be linked to higher Dementia risk among women.

The study involved nearly 30,000 participants from 18 countries spanning six continents. And while the team discovered no evidence of a gender gap regarding the known Dementia Risk factors, women still had a higher likelihood of developing the condition that was more distinct in poorer countries.

So, the study’s lead author Jessica Gong detailed how even though prior research indicated women had a greater risk of developing dementia due to longer lifespans than men, age may not be the only factor.

“Most research estimating dementia incidence to date has been conducted in high-income countries with very little data available in the countries that actually bear the greatest burden,” Gong said.

“We found that when we adjusted for age, rates of dementia were highest among low to lower-middle income countries, and higher in women than men.”

By 2050, the number of dementia diagnoses is expected to increase above 150 million– which is threefold the 2019 estimate of 50 million.

Rates of dementia are also rising most swiftly in low and middle-income countries (LMICS)– regions that are simultaneously unable to manage the disease’s drastic socioeconomic impacts.

During 2020, The Lancet Commission Report estimated that up to 40% of dementia diagnoses could be due to 12 risk factors– including hypertension, diabetes, obesity, hearing impairment, depression, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, low social contact, physical inactivity, less education, air pollution, and traumatic brain injury.

It is crucial to note that many of these risk factors are more prevalent in LMICs.

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When the researchers analyzed these factors, though, they did not uncover a gender gap. Instead, factors such as older age, depression, hearing impairment, diabetes, and a specific genetic variation known as APOE4– which is tied to fat metabolism in the brain– were all associated with higher dementia risk among both men and women.

Additionally, having more years of education, high physical activity, and higher hip circumference were linked to lower dementia risk among both groups.

“But there was moderate evidence for a [gender] difference with years spent in education, indicating a stronger protective association for men than women,” Gong noted.

This led the authors to argue that women in LMICs have not received equal educational and professional opportunities as men– which is an issue since attaining higher education and obtaining mentally stimulating professions was shown to be a protective measure against dementia.

Sanne Peters, a research team member and senior lecturer at The George Institute for Global Health UK, explained how this could lead to a domino effect.

She claimed that institutional factors limiting women’s opportunities, decreased access to healthcare and risk management programs, and other factors like domestic violence among women in low socioeconomic environments can cause psychological stress and lead to poor financial conditions. Afterward, this ultimately impacts women’s cognitive health later in life.

“In general, the geographical patterns that we saw for increased dementia risk in women seemed to echo those of gender disparity,” Peters said.

“These findings justify support for programs to improve gender equity in brain health throughout the life course, particularly in populations that have been previously underrepresented in dementia research.”

To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, visit the link here.

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