Menopausal women before the age of 40 would be 35% more vulnerable to the onset of dementia. Explanations.
When menopause occurs before the age of 40, it is called early. A phenomenon that might have other health consequences. According to a study presented at the American Heart Association conference, women who go through menopause before age 40 are more likely to develop dementia later in life than those who go through menopause at age 50. All types of dementia were taken into account, whether Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, etc.
Specifically, women who went through menopause before age 40 were 35% more likely to develop dementia. And those who were dementia before age 45 were 1.3 times more likely to develop dementia before age 65. “Our study found that women who go through early menopause are at greater risk of developing dementia later in life. Being aware of this increased risk can help women practice dementia prevention strategies and work with their doctors to closely monitor their cognitive status as they age.“, recommends Wenting Hao, candidate at Shandong University in Jinan, China. After age 50, the age of menopause no longer impacts the risk of dementia. Whether it is 50, 51 and 52, the found to be similar for women.In this study, the data of 153,291 women were examined by the researchers.
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A link to lower estrogen levels
Another finding from this study is that post-menopausal women are at greater risk of stroke than pre-menopausal women, but the researchers found no association between age at menopause and stroke risk. vascular dementia. “Dementia can be prevented and there are several ways to reduce the risk of dementia. This includes exercising routinely, participating in recreational and educational activities, not smoking or drinking alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough vitamin D, and in some cases taking supplements calcium“, advises Wenting Hao.
To explain the possible link between early menopause and dementia, researchers point to the drop in estrogen levels. “We know that long-term lack of estrogen increases oxidative stress, which can increase brain aging and lead to cognitive impairment.“, says the study.
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