WEDNESDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Men are one and a half
times more likely than women to develop mild cognitive impairment,
new research shows.
"These findings are in contrast to studies which have found more
women than men [or an equal proportion] have dementia, and suggest
there's a delayed progression to dementia in men," study author
Rosebud Roberts, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said in a
prepared statement. "Alternately, women may develop dementia at a
faster rate than men."
The study, expected to be presented Wednesday at the American
Academy of Neurology annual meeting, in Chicago, is based on
interviews, examinations and cognitive tests conducted on 2,050
people -- aged 70 to 89 -- living in Olmsted County, Minn.
Overall, 15 percent of the group had mild cognitive impairment,
which is when one has memory and other thinking skills somewhat
worse than what can be expected based on the person's age and
education.
The rate of mild cognitive impairment was the same, regardless
of a man's education or marital status.
"This is one of the first studies to determine the prevalence of
mild cognitive impairment among men and women who have been
randomly selected from a community to participate in the study,"
Roberts said.
More information
The Alzheimer's Association has more about
mild cognitive impairment.
