Women not only face higher rates of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, but new research suggests they may also be more strongly affected by several common risk factors linked to cognitive decline.
Scientists at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine analyzed data from more than 17,000 middle aged and older adults and found that certain modifiable dementia risk factors appear to have a greater impact on women's cognitive function than men's. The findings were published May 19, 2026, in Biology of Sex Differences.
"Looking beyond which risk factors are most common, we found that some have a disproportionately larger impact on women's cognition," said Megan Fitzhugh, PhD, assistant professor of neurosciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine and first author of the study. "This suggests that prevention efforts may be more effective if they are tailored not just to risk factor prevalence, but to how strongly each factor affects cognition in women versus men."
Researchers say the findings could help explain why women account for nearly two thirds of Alzheimer's cases in the United States.
Women Bear a Larger Alzheimer's Burden
