Monday, May 9, 2011

Estrogen Use Before 65 Linked To Reduced Alzheimer’s Risk

A study which was part of the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study found women who used any form of estrogen hormone therapy before the age of 65 were nearly 50 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or dementia than women who did not use hormone therapy before age 65.

Medical researchers noted that the study was one of the largest U.S. prevention studies of postmenopausal women. The study looked at prior hormone use in 7,153 healthy women ages 65-79 before they enrolled in the WHI Memory Study.

Researchers followed the women’s cognitive health over an average of five years. In that time, 106 of the women developed Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Dementia is a general term referring to the progressive decline in a person’s cognitive function. Dementia can affect memory, attention, language and problem solving abilities. According to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia impacting older Americans.

Women who began estrogen-only therapy after the age of 65 had roughly a 50-percent increased risk of developing dementia. The risk jumped to nearly double for women using estrogen-plus-progestin hormone therapy.