Someone is diagnosed with dementia every seven seconds. And the odds are good that person is a woman.

That’s because Alzheimer’s is almost twice as common in women, which makes identifying female-specific risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease vital. Especially since experts estimate 40 percent of cases can be prevented or, at the least, delayed.

These facts have led researchers to focus on menopause’s impact on cognitive aging, ultimately discovering that dementia and declining estrogen do go hand-in-hand.

But, are all women equally at risk? Or does the severity of your symptoms offer a clue as to whether or not your brain is in danger?

Research published in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause Society, has the answer…

When your body suffers, your brain suffers

Recent research followed nearly 1,300 late-postmenopausal women measuring their cognitive abilities during mid-life and comparing the level of menopausal symptoms they suffered from.

The women rated their symptoms which ranged from hot flashes, bladder issues and sleep disturbances to muscular and joint discomfort, depression, irritability, anxiety, fatigue, sexual problems and more.

The results clearly showed that severe menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, sleep and mood disturbances can be linked with cognitive problems.

In fact, the researchers say that severe symptoms are associated with a significant 74 percent increase in the risk of mild cognitive impairment — a transitional state between normal aging and dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease.

“The heightened severity of menopausal symptoms observed among post-menopausal women with mild cognitive impairment aligns with existing literature linking hormonal levels during menopause to cognitive changes,” wrote the lead author, Andrés Calle, MD, the research director at Central University of Ecuador in Quito.

Positive changes for better brain health

The good news is that researchers say doing more to keep your heart at its best, since vascular health has everything to do with brain health, can help.

Factors the scientists noted that kept cognitive impairment at bay included lower body mass index, sexual activity and physical activity.

These lifestyle factors support the most important factor for both heart and brain health: blood flow.

Research into mild cognitive decline has seen that the small vessels in the brains of older adults do not receive adequate blood supply. Not only is the blood flow greatly reduced, but so is functional connectivity — the beginning of a decline in the inner workings of the brain.

This is especially significant for women because estrogen is more than a female hormone. It assists the body in producing nitric oxide (NO), a signaling molecule that regulates vascular wall elasticity — factors that impact vascular health and blood flow.

These are two good reasons why I’ll recommend vitamin D. Not only does it play an important role in estrogen creation, a growing number of studies link vitamin D deficiency to dementia.

The third reason I’ll recommend vitamin D is that women with insufficient levels of vitamin D and estrogen are more likely to have metabolic syndrome — yet another risk factor for dementia.

The final reason I’ll recommend the sunshine vitamin is this: low vitamin D levels have been associated with hot flashes. Specifically, researchers saw each one-unit decrease of vitamin 25(OH)D (1 – 0.941 = 0.059) increased the risk of hot flashes by 5.9 percent in postmenopausal women.

When supplementing vitamin D, it’s important to remember it’s not a one-size-fits-all vitamin. Current therapeutic dosages recommend 5,000 IU daily.

If you suffer from severe menopausal symptoms, start taking steps now to reduce the harm they can do to your brain.

Sources:

Severe menopause symptoms may take toll on brain health – EurekAlert!

Severe menopausal symptoms linked to cognitive impairment: an exploratory study – Menopause

Why are women more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease? – Harvard Health Publishing

More proof a vitamin D deficiency spells dementia – Easy Health Options