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How do social and biological factors influence risk of cognitive decline and dementia in males and females?
Paola Gilsanz, Sc.D.
Kaiser Foundation Research Institute
Oakland, CA - United States
Background
More women than men have Alzheimer’s or other dementias. Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women. According to the 2019 Alzheimer’s Facts and Figures report, of the 5.6 million people aged 65 and older with Alzheimer’s in the United States, two-thirds of these are women. The primary drivers of sex differences in dementia remain unknown. Past studies suggest that the effects of risk and protective factors for dementia may depend on a person’s biological sex, highlighting the strong need for studies to further examine these relationships. Given that women live longer than men, Dr. Paola Gilsanz believes that women may have longer exposure to risk factors (such as heart health, lifestyle factors etc.) for dementia and cognitive decline.
Research Plan
Dr. Gilsanz will use the resources and historical data collected as part of the Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) healthcare delivery system. KPNC brings together information from over 300,000 members of the healthcare delivery system who participated in a series of optional check-ups offered in their routine care in San Francisco and Oakland between 1964 and 1992. The data collected here includes blood pressure, urine sample, medical history, current health questions etc. In addition, cognitive measures were collected on a portion of older adults from this study.
In the data to be used by Dr. Gilsanz, more than 50% of the participants are women. The study measuring cognitive outcomes includes participants belonging to diverse ethnic and racial groups. Leveraging these rich and diverse data sets, Dr. Gilsanz will examine the role of education and occupation as possible factors contributing to sex differences in dementia and cognitive function in older adults. The researchers will also explore the role of elevated blood pressure and a high body mass index collected repeatedly, during mid-to late-life to examine how cumulative exposure to blood pressure and body mass index across the life course may be associated with dementia and cognitive function in late-life.
Impact
Dr. Gilsanz’s study results could provide insights into factors across the life course that influence and underlie sex differences in late-life cognition and dementia in diverse samples. These results could be used to inform future intervention strategies to reduce the risk of dementia for women and men.
This project is sponsored by the Judy Fund.
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