Is Midlife Stress The Cause of Dementia in Aging Women?

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible and progressive neurological disease that eventually makes sufferers unable to live independently. One of the cardinal symptoms of AD is memory loss and eventually complete cognitive decline. It is unfortunately not an uncommon disease, half of adults aged 85 and over have AD. It is ranked as the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and others have ranked it even higher (1). AD is the most common cause of dementia in older people. Causes of dementia are numerous, some are known and many are unknown. Stress has been shown to increase the likelihood of dementia. Early traumatic events are associated with higher risk of dementia (2). In a retrospective study, patients encountered a greater number of stressful events prior to the onset of dementia compared to those who did not develop dementia (3). It is not necessarily trauma that is related to the increased risk! Individuals who suffer from PTSD are at a higher risk of dementia than those who experienced trauma but did not develop PTSD (4). Why stress? A part of the stress response is the release of hormones such as cortisol. Prolonged and/or excessive amounts of cortisol damage the hippocampus. This area is heavily involved in long term memory and its damage is related to Alzheimer’s Disease . Thus, it is not surprising that stress increases the risk for dementia as we age. Interestingly, women are at an increased risk for dementia. One explanation has to do with sex differences in the stress response. I.e. women physiologically react differently to stress than men. And these differences place stressed women at a higher risk for dementia as they age (5). Aging and cortisol’s deleterious effects on the brain are much more intimately related in women than in men. […]

Click here to view full article