Scientists in China have found out which women face early dementia

One of the reasons for the development of dementia in women over the age of 60 may be earlier brain aging and cognitive impairment. This is directly related to female physiology, scientists at Shandong University in China found out.

They studied the health data of 153 thousand British women from the national biobank. Their age, bad habits, history of cardiovascular disease, and level of physical activity were taken into account. It turned out that the risk of dementia in old age is higher in women with early menopause.

Menopause – the complete cessation of the menstrual cycle – usually occurs in women aged 49-52 years.

Researchers from China have found that those women who have it earlier – before the age of 45 – are 1.3 times more likely to begin the breakdown of mental functions and dementia occurs by the age of 65.

“One of the reasons is the sharp drop in estrogen levels following menopause,” says study author Wenting Hao. – Lack of estrogen for a long time increases oxidative stress, which can accelerate brain aging and lead to cognitive impairment.

Oxidative stress occurs when the body’s antioxidant defenses are unable to cope with an excess of toxic reactive oxygen species, such as free radicals, that can damage cells.

oxidative stress can provoke the development of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases – coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.