It’s not called the “big change” for nothing.
Women are more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease than men, accounting for roughly two-thirds of people with the degenerative condition.
And one factor in particular could point to an increased risk for women of a certain age, according to a groundbreaking new study.
Menopause typically occurs in the early 50s — although the transition can begin a decade earlier — and the timing could be a critical early warning sign for long-term brain health.
Published Tuesday in the journal Neurology, the research found a crucial factor linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s in women: the age when they experience menopause.
Looking at more than 2,600 women, the study found that earlier menopause was linked to faster brain aging and an earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in older women — even decades later.
Women who experienced earlier menopause showed changes in white matter, the brain tissue responsible for learning and memory, according to Dr. Stephanie McNally, medical director of the Northwell Katz Institute for Women’s Health.
“This actually suggests that with an earlier menopause, whether natural or surgical, there’s going to be a higher change in that functionality,” McNally, the vice president of the Northwell Health OBGYN Service Line, said.
“Therefore potentially a shorter time for somebody to be disease free from Alzheimer’s, a higher change in their cognitive function.”
As women age and enter the menopausal transition, white matter starts to break down, meaning its protective aspects begin to lessen.
However, the research noted that other factors that could influence the association between earlier menopause and cognitive changes in Alzheimer’s.
“What’s going on universally with their other comorbidities, other disease processes,” McNally asked. “Pregnancy associations, whether or not there was breastfeeding, medications — all these things have impact and factors on a woman’s cognitive functionality.”
Incidentally, a different study suggested that women who use hormone therapy, a common menopause symptom treatment, actually faced a lower risk of developing the memory-robbing illness.
Women who had taken estrogen-only MHT had a 35% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s during their lifetime than those who had not taken the medication.
Another important factor to consider is whether menopause was induced via surgery or occured naturally.
“When a woman is put into surgical menopause with removal of their ovaries, this really has an immediate abrupt decline and change in hormonal balance that has an impact on cognitive function as well as neuroimaging,” McNally pointed out.
When ovaries produce less of the hormone estrogen — which supports memory, learning and executive function — this can lead to brain fog and memory lapses, symptoms that mimic those of early-stage dementia.
“What we still don’t have a specific answer to is at what point does estrogen, or will it, prevent or inhibit the progression into Alzheimer’s disease or changes in cognitive function,” McNally said.
