Why Do Memory Problems Strike Men Harder? (part 2)

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities





Get your subscription to Activity Director Today's e magazine" />

abcnews

Why Do Memory Problems Strike Men Harder?

“This is the first study conducted among community-dwelling persons to find a higher prevalence of MCI in men,” said study author Ronald Petersen, MD, PhD, with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “If these results are confirmed in other studies, it may suggest that factors related to gender play a role in the disease. For example, men may experience cognitive decline earlier in life but more gradually, whereas women may transition from normal memory directly to dementia at a later age but more quickly.”

For the study, 2,050 people between the ages of 70 to 89 in Olmstead County, Minn. were interviewed about their memory and their medical history and tested on their memory and thinking skills.

The study found that nearly 14 percent of participants had mild cognitive impairment, about 10 percent had dementia and 76 percent of those tested had normal memory and thinking skills. A total of 19 percent of men had mild cognitive impairment, compared to 14 percent of women.

“The finding that the frequency of mild cognitive impairment is greater in men was unexpected, since the frequency of Alzheimer’s disease is actually greater in women. It warrants further study,” says Ronald Petersen, M.D., Ph.D., neurologist and director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. “If we consider the 16 percent prevalence of mild cognitive impairment in individuals without dementia, then add the 10-11 percent of individuals who already have dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, we’re looking at 25 percent or more of the population aged 70 or older who have dementia or are at risk of developing dementia in the near future. With the aging of America, these numbers are staggering and the impact on the health care economy, as well as on individuals and their families, is quite impressive. The need for early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention is increasingly important.”

Why Do Memory Problems Strike Men Harder?

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities





Get your subscription to Activity Director Today's e magazine" />

abcnews

A new Mayo Clinic study found that the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment was 1.5 times higher in men than in women. The research, part of the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, also showed a prevalence rate of 16 percent.

The research is published in the September 7, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Doctors are looking very closely at a possible clue to explain the prevalence of MCI in men.

Study author Ronald Petersen, MD, PhD, with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said, "When we look at the men who have Mild Cognitive Impairment, they tend to have more of the vascular risk factors than women do, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking."

Study after study comes back with the implication that what is good for the heart is good for the brain, and this one seems to add the insight that the women simply have more heart-healthy habits than the men. The good news is that heart-healthy habits are well-understood. People can take a lot of well-established preventative measures to help protect themselves and improve their odds.

The Study Said...... come back to dementia views soon to read more about
Why Do Memory Problems Strike Men Harder?