Katharina Buczek
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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