The Scotsman

Half of women ‘likely to get dementia or have a stroke’

- By SALLY WARDLE newsdeskts@scotsman.com

Half of women will develop dementia, Parkinson’s disease or have a stroke in their lifetime, new research suggests.

About a third of men aged 45 and one in two women of the same age are likely to go on to be diagnosed with one of the conditions, according to a study of more than 12,000 people.

The researcher­s, from the University Medical Centre Rotterdam in the Netherland­s, said preventati­ve measures could “substantia­lly” reduce the burden of the illnesses.

The findings have been published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurge­ry and Psychiatry.

The health of 12,102 people was monitored between 1990 and 2016, with all participan­ts initially under the age of 45.

During this period 1,489 were diagnosed with dementia and 263 with parkinsoni­sm, while 1,285 had a stroke.

The overall risk of a 45-yearold later developing one of the three conditions was 48 per cent for women and 36 per cent for men, the researcher­s said.

Dementia was of greatest concern for women, who at 45 years of age had a 25.9 per cent risk of going on to develop the condition, compared with 13.7 per cent for men.

Dr Carol Routledge, director of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “This large study underscore­s the enormous impact that neurologic­al illnesses have across society and how women are disproport­ionately affected, particular­ly when it comes to dementia.”

Those diagnosed with one of the three conditions were found to have a higher prevalence of high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythm, high cholestero­l and Type 2 diabetes at the start of the monitoring period.

“These findings strengthen the call for prioritisi­ng the focus on preventati­ve interventi­ons at population level, which could substantia­lly reduce the burden of common neurologic­al diseases in the ageing population,” the authors said.

They estimate if onset of dementia, parkinsoni­sm and stroke was delayed by as little as one to three years, the remaining risk of developing the conditions could be cut by 20 per cent among 45-yearolds and more than 50 per cent in those older than 85-yearsold.

Dr Routledge said it was “crucial” that efforts to find a drug that could delay the onset of dementia symptoms were increased.

She said: “For most of us, our individual risk of illnesses

0 Preventati­ve measures can ‘substantia­lly’ reduce the burden of the illnesses

like dementia is not set in stone and there are things we can all do to help maintain a healthy brain.

“The best current evidence suggeststh­ateatingab­alanced diet, controllin­g our weight, staying physically active, not smoking, only drinking within the recommende­d limits and keeping blood pressure and cholestero­l in check are all associated with better brain health into old age.”

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