Men and women differ on their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

French researchers studied nearly 7,000 people over 65 years from the general population of 3 French cities. None of the subjects had dementia, but 4 out of 10 had mild cognitive impairment at the onset of the study. At 2 and 4 years the participants were re-evaluated.

• Approximately 6.5% initially considers to have mild cognitive impairment developed dementia.
• One in three of those with mild cognitive impairment reverted to normal levels of cognitive agility.
• Depressed individuals were more likely to progress from mild cognitive impairment to dementia.
• Men who had a stroke were nearly 3 times more likely to progress from mild cognitive impairment to dementia.
• Men with mild cognitive impairment were more likely to be overweight, diabetic, and have a stroke.
• Women with mild cognitive impairment were more likely to be in poor general heath, disabled, suffering from insomnia, and have a poor support network.
• Women unable to perform routine daily tasks were 3.5 times more likely to develop dementia.
• Women who were depressed and had mild cognitive impairment were twice as likely to develop dementia.
• Strokes in women occurred as frequently as in men, but did not factor statistically in developing dementia.