Alzheimer’s: A Woman’s Disease Amanda G. Smith, MD Medical Director, USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute
Disclosures
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Grant/Research support: – Lilly, Merck, Eisai, Cognate Nutritionals, TauRX – Contract payment to site (not investigator)
Dementia Dementia is the loss of cognitive function with aging due to degeneration of the brain ▶ Alzheimer’s is the most common form ▶ Definite diagnosis used to require autopsy ▶ Many mixed cases ▶ Some memory disorders are reversible and not truly dementia ▶
Alzheimer’s Disease ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶ ▶
The most common cause of dementia Affects 1 in 40 Floridians, 1 in 66 Americans 1 in 3 seniors dies with some type of dementia Affects 10% of people over 65; 30-50% of people over 85 Over 5.4 million Americans presently By 2050, predicted to affect 16-20 million 6th leading cause of death in the USA Costs the nation $226 Billion annually By 2050 predicted to cost $1.1 Trillion
Women with Alzheimer’s Almost 2/3 of American seniors living with AD are women ▶ 3.2 million women over 65 in the US ▶ 16 % of women over 71 have dementia vs 11% of men ▶ At age 65, a woman without AD has a 1 in 6 chance of developing it, vs 1 in 11 in men ▶ Women in their 60’s are 2x as likely to develop AD than breast cancer over the rest of their lives ▶
17.2
9.3
REMAINING LIFETIME RISK OF DEVELOPING DISEASE FOR WOMEN IN THEIR 60'S: Risk of Alzheimer's
Risk of Breast Cancer
Why do women have higher risk? Women live longer ▶ Women are more likely to get AD if they carry the ApoE4 gene than men are ▶ Differences in cardiovascular risk ▶ Estrogen effects ▶ Educational attainment, esp. in oldest old ▶
Women as Caregivers for AD 63% of unpaid caregivers are women ▶ 60-70% of all caregivers are women ▶ Currently about 10 million women providing unpaid care ▶ Women account for greater hours and greater length of care than men ▶
Women as Caregivers, continued Women are 2.5x more likely to provide 24hr care ▶ Women are 2.3 more likely to provide care for 5 years or more ▶ Women are more likely to help with personal care ▶ Women are less likely to have additional support from family and friends ▶
Caregiving: effects on health ½ of female caregivers report physical stress compared to ¼ of male caregivers ▶ Nearly 2/3 of female caregivers report emotional stress ▶ 1/3 of both men and women feel isolated but it is more commonly linked to depression in women ▶ ¾ of women express concern about their ability to maintain their health ▶
Caregiving: Effects in the workplace
20
3 PERCENTAGE OF WORKING CAREGIVERS WHO HAVE GONE FROM FT TO PT WORK Women
Men
Caregiving: Effects in the workplace 20% of women vs 3% of men have gone from full time to part time work due to caregiving ▶ 19% of WWC had to quit working either to start caregiving or because it became too burdensome ▶ 18% of WWC have taken a leave of absence from work ▶ 10% have lost job benefits ▶ 17% report feeling penalized by their employers ▶
What can you do? Physical exercise ▶ Mediterranean type diet ▶ Wear helmets and seatbelts ▶ Control cardiovascular risk factors ▶ Research hormone replacement with your doctor ▶ Reduce stress when possible ▶ Join the movement at Mybrain.alz.org ▶ Join the Brain Health Registry at brainhealthregistry.org ▶