Men are more likely to experience mild cognitive impairment during the aging process than women, new research from the Mayo Clinic shows. According to a National Public Radio report, the study found that 72 men per 1,000 are diagnosed with the condition leading to dementia, while only 57 per 1,000 women experience mild cognitive impairment.
For the study, Mayo Clinic researchers followed 1,450 people between the ages of 70 and 89 in Olmsted County, Minnesota. All participants were free of dementia when the study began in 2004. Men and women were retested every 15 months and at the end of three years, 296 had developed mild cognitive impairment. Most were men.
Study leader Rosebud Roberts suggests the disparity could simply mean that men experience mild cognitive impairment earlier than women. Roberts noted that in the oldest age group—85 to 89—the incidence of cognitive decline was the same in men and women.
Men may also develop other risk factors for dementia more quickly than women, she said. Conditions like obesity, diabetes and hypertension have already been identified as increasing the likelihood of mild cognitive impairment, and men often develop these problems earlier than women.
Roberts suggested that men pay more attention to their physical health in order to ward off mild cognitive impairment. Staying mentally stimulated has also been shown to ward off memory loss.
“There is a lot that people can do,” Roberts told NPR.
Mild cognitive impairment describes the stage between normal forgetfulness and serious cognitive issues, the report said. While a diagnosis of the condition doesn’t mean a person is destined to get Alzheimer’s disease, it is often the first step.
