Women at 90 more prone to dementia than men

Washington, Jul 3 (UNI) Good news for older men as a new research has found that men above 90 are less likely to suffer from dementia than women of same age.

The study found signs of senility in a full 45 per cent of women aged 90 and older from a southern California retirement community.

Men weren't immune to mental decline, however, since 28 per cent of them also suffered from dementia.

Still, ''given the increasing number of people (aged 90 and older) this can become a fairly big public health problem,'' said study lead author Maria Corrada, an assistant adjunct professor of neurology at the University of California, Irvine.

''We need to be prepared for that. Dementia requires a lot of care, and a lot of money needs to be spent on caring for these people,'' she added.

Dementia, also known as senility, refers to the mental confusion that can strike the elderly. Alzheimer's disease, stroke and brain injuries can lead to the condition, although the cause is sometimes unknown, the study, published online in the journal Neurology said.

The researchers examined a survey of 911 men and women over the age of 90 between 2003 and 2006 and also found that women with higher levels of education were less likely to show signs of senility.

Howeever, more education didn't seem to have any effect in men, it added.

''Education may mean something different for men and women in this age group,'' said Prof Corrada, adding that another research had linked education to brain health.

''People who have more education and more intellectual attainment in their lives are less likely to become demented,'' she said.

''That may be simply because they start out so much better than everyone else (brain-wise) that they can cope better'' with aging, Prof Corrada told the Science Daily.

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