Women who have gone through menopause could have a higher risk of stroke or dementia and cognitive decline than men – and pre-menopausal women of the same age – a study suggests.
Published in the American Academy of Neurology, researchers suggest that post-menopausal women might have more of a brain biomarker called white matter hyperintensities.
White matter hyperintensities are tiny lesions visible on brain scans that become more common with age or with uncontrolled high blood pressure. These brain biomarkers have been linked in some studies to an increased risk of stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline.
The study involved 3,410 people with an average age of 54. Of those, 58 per cent were women, and of the women, 59 per cent were post-menopausal.
Researchers analysed MRI brain scans, calculating the amount of white matter hyperintensities for each participant.
After adjusting for age and vascular risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes, researchers found that post-menopausal women had more of these brain biomarkers when compared to men of similar age.
Author Monique M. B. Breteler said: “It has been known that high blood pressure, which affects the small blood vessels in the brain, can lead to an increase in white matter hyperintensities.
“The results of our study not only show more research is needed to investigate how menopause may be related to the vascular health of the brain.
“They also demonstrate the necessity to account for different health trajectories for men and women, and menopausal status. Our research underscores the importance of sex-specific medicine and more attentive therapy for older women, especially those with vascular risk factors.”
A limitation of the study was that researchers did not know the exact age of menopause onset or whether some participants were perimenopausal.
