Jul 18, 2019 02:16 AM
Women who work are less likely to develop dementia
https://www.news-medical.net/news/201907...entia.aspx
INTRO: A new study has suggested that engaging in paid work may protect women against cognitive decline and reduce their risk of dementia. The research, although preliminary and not published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, was presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Los Angeles earlier this week.
According to statistics released by the US Department of Labor, women constitute almost 47 percent of the workforce. While this has clear benefits for women’s social and economic mobility, independence, and overall wellbeing, new research has suggested that women’s cognitive health in older age could also benefit from being employed in paid work throughout their lives.
The authors of the research believe that their work could enhance the importance of policies that help women stay in work, with “Policies that promote equal pay for equal work, paid family leave and affordable childcare” becoming part of the conversation about women’s dementia in old age according to the lead researcher and epidemiologist Elizabeth Rose Mayeda.
Mayeda and her research team studied over 6,000 women born between 1935 and 1956 and collected their family and employment history through the age of 50. From 1995 to 2016, the women had regular cognitive assessments during which they were asked to recall lists of words from memory and fill out questionnaires on cognitive decline.
Results showed that the rate of memory decline was similar in mothers and non-mothers who worked, but the cognitive decline was fastest in women who did not work. Married mothers who did not work found their memory decline 61 percent faster over a decade when compared to married mothers who were employed in paid work. Rates of cognitive decline were significantly higher in single mothers without paid work, whose memory declined 83 percent faster if they didn’t work. (MORE)
LGBTQ Americans Could Be At Higher Risk For Dementia, Study Finds
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shot...tudy-finds
EXCERPT: LGBTQ Americans were recently found 29% more likely to report memory loss and confusion — two early signs of dementia— than their straight, cisgender counterparts. The research, led by the University of California, San Francisco, was released at the 2019 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Los Angeles. A large phone-based survey was conducted across nine states. Out of more than 44,000 adults aged 45 and older, roughly 3% of participants identified themselves as a sexual or gender minority.
Researchers found that more than 14% of LGBTQ participants reported increased rates of subjective cognitive decline, or a self-observed experience of worsening or frequent confusion or memory loss in the past year. That's roughly one in seven adults, the study says, while the rate among straight, cisgender participants was one in ten.
Jason Flatt, an assistant professor at the Institute for Health & Aging at UCSF and the study's lead author, said his team is not certain what is causing the cognitive impairment in sexual or gender minorities. He believes it may be due to higher rates of depression, separate health concerns such as PTSD, inability to work, high stress and/or lack of access to regular healthcare.
[...] Older LGBTQ Americans are less likely to be married or have children, twice as likely to live alone and more likely not to have assistance from caregivers, than their straight, cisgender counterparts. According to researchers, these unique challenges may be attributed to their cognitive decline. Although Flatt's findings aren't directly linked with the certainty of developing dementia, he hopes the research will draw attention to a concerning trend and prompt the LGBTQ community to seek out medical care. (MORE - details)
https://www.news-medical.net/news/201907...entia.aspx
INTRO: A new study has suggested that engaging in paid work may protect women against cognitive decline and reduce their risk of dementia. The research, although preliminary and not published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, was presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Los Angeles earlier this week.
According to statistics released by the US Department of Labor, women constitute almost 47 percent of the workforce. While this has clear benefits for women’s social and economic mobility, independence, and overall wellbeing, new research has suggested that women’s cognitive health in older age could also benefit from being employed in paid work throughout their lives.
The authors of the research believe that their work could enhance the importance of policies that help women stay in work, with “Policies that promote equal pay for equal work, paid family leave and affordable childcare” becoming part of the conversation about women’s dementia in old age according to the lead researcher and epidemiologist Elizabeth Rose Mayeda.
Mayeda and her research team studied over 6,000 women born between 1935 and 1956 and collected their family and employment history through the age of 50. From 1995 to 2016, the women had regular cognitive assessments during which they were asked to recall lists of words from memory and fill out questionnaires on cognitive decline.
Results showed that the rate of memory decline was similar in mothers and non-mothers who worked, but the cognitive decline was fastest in women who did not work. Married mothers who did not work found their memory decline 61 percent faster over a decade when compared to married mothers who were employed in paid work. Rates of cognitive decline were significantly higher in single mothers without paid work, whose memory declined 83 percent faster if they didn’t work. (MORE)
LGBTQ Americans Could Be At Higher Risk For Dementia, Study Finds
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shot...tudy-finds
EXCERPT: LGBTQ Americans were recently found 29% more likely to report memory loss and confusion — two early signs of dementia— than their straight, cisgender counterparts. The research, led by the University of California, San Francisco, was released at the 2019 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Los Angeles. A large phone-based survey was conducted across nine states. Out of more than 44,000 adults aged 45 and older, roughly 3% of participants identified themselves as a sexual or gender minority.
Researchers found that more than 14% of LGBTQ participants reported increased rates of subjective cognitive decline, or a self-observed experience of worsening or frequent confusion or memory loss in the past year. That's roughly one in seven adults, the study says, while the rate among straight, cisgender participants was one in ten.
Jason Flatt, an assistant professor at the Institute for Health & Aging at UCSF and the study's lead author, said his team is not certain what is causing the cognitive impairment in sexual or gender minorities. He believes it may be due to higher rates of depression, separate health concerns such as PTSD, inability to work, high stress and/or lack of access to regular healthcare.
[...] Older LGBTQ Americans are less likely to be married or have children, twice as likely to live alone and more likely not to have assistance from caregivers, than their straight, cisgender counterparts. According to researchers, these unique challenges may be attributed to their cognitive decline. Although Flatt's findings aren't directly linked with the certainty of developing dementia, he hopes the research will draw attention to a concerning trend and prompt the LGBTQ community to seek out medical care. (MORE - details)