Is the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease greater for women than for men?

• Published in: American journal of epidemiology Vol. 153; no. 2; pp. 132 - 136
• Main Authors: HEBERT, Liesi E, SCHERR, Paul A, MCCANN, Judith J, BECKETT, Laurel A, EVANS, Denis A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cary, NC Oxford University Press 15-01-2001; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Aged; Alzheimer Disease - epidemiology; Alzheimer Disease - etiology; Alzheimer Disease - mortality; Biological and medical sciences; Boston - epidemiology; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Female; Humans; Incidence; Logistic Models; Longevity; Male; Medical sciences; Neurology; Odds Ratio; Population Surveillance; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Sex Distribution; Sex Factors; Survival Analysis; Boston; Human; Nervous system diseases; Prevalence; Alzheimer disease; Sex; Cerebral disorder; Incidence; Central nervous system disease; Risk factor; Female; Degenerative disease; Diagnosis; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0002-9262; 1476-6256
• DOI: 10.1093/aje/153.2.132

A large proportion of people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are women; however, it is not clear whether this is due to higher risk of disease or solely to the larger number of women alive at ages when AD is common. Beginning in 1982, two stratified random samples of people aged > or =65 years in East Boston, Massachusetts underwent detailed, structured clinical evaluation for prevalent (467 people) and incident (642 people from a cohort previously ascertained to be disease-free) probable AD. The prevalence sample was followed for mortality for up to 11 years (through December 1992). The age-specific incidence of AD did not differ significantly by sex (for men vs. women, odds ratio = 0.92; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.51, 1.67). Controlled for age, prevalence also did not differ significantly by sex (for men vs. women, odds ratio = 1.29; 95% CI: 0.67, 2.48). The increase in risk of mortality due to AD did not vary by sex. The odds ratio for women with AD compared with women without AD was 2.07 (95% CI: 1.21, 3.56). For men, the odds ratio was 2.22 (95% CI: 1.02, 4.81). These findings suggest that the excess number of women with AD is due to the longer life expectancy of women rather than sex-specific risk factors for the disease.