Women more at risk of developing Alzheimer's

Washington, Mar 20: Researchers have estimated that one out of every six women are at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) in their lifetime, while the risk for men is one in ten. Stroke and dementia are the most widely feared age-related neurological diseases, and are also the only neurological disorders listed in the ten leading causes of disease burden, a report by the Alzheimer's Association found. ''The realisation that the lifetime risk of stroke or dementia was more than one in three in both sexes, which is higher than the lifetime risk of coronary heart disease in women, is sobering,'' said lead author Sudha Seshadri, MD, an associate professor of neurology at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM).

According to the report published in the journal Alzheimer's Disease: Facts and Figures, the greater lifetime expectancy for women translates into a greater lifetime risk of several diseases. ''People should be aware of the risk of a disease at some point in their life. Similarly, such statistics are essential for public health planners to estimate the projected disease burden in a population during its expected lifespan,'' Sciencedaily quoted her as saying.

UNI