--- title: Alzheimer's Study Shows Women Slip Into Dementia Faster Than Men description: The reasons remain unclear at this point, authors note. canonical: https://time.com/3965890/women-alzheimers-men/ author: Tanya Basu article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-21T15:15:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:20.413Z article:section: Health og:title: Study Finds That Women Slip Into Dementia Faster Than Men og:description: Women's test scores fell 2 points per year, compared to 1 point for men. og:url: https://time.com/3965890/women-alzheimers-men/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d09ef693c778245/69885bbce53aba1bfd4deb17/dementia.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Senior woman covering face with her hands og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Study Finds That Women Slip Into Dementia Faster Than Men twitter:description: Women's test scores fell 2 points per year, compared to 1 point for men. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d09ef693c778245/69885bbce53aba1bfd4deb17/dementia.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Study Finds That Women Slip Into Dementia Faster Than Men ## Video: Ground Breaking Women Alzheimer's Study [Watch (HLS stream): Ground Breaking Women Alzheimer's Study](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7CumxY4I.m3u8) (1:54)  _Published 2014-03-19. A new Alzheimer's Association study finds that women far more susceptable to the disease than men._  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Jul 21, 2015 3:15 PM UTC  Senior woman covering face with her hands Senior woman covering face with her handsGetty Images  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Jul 21, 2015 3:15 PM UTC Women who develop slight memory deficits and mental decline slide faster toward dementia than men, according to a new study presented Tuesday at the [Alzheimer’s Association International Conference](https://www.alz.org/aaic/) in Washington. Researchers were quick to note that the study’s findings aren’t reflective of a difference in brain chemistry between genders and have no medical implications just yet. “All we can say at this point is that there appears to be a faster trajectory for women than men” in the direction of dementia, said P. Murali Doraiswamy, a professor of psychiatry at Duke University’s Institute for Brain Sciences and lead author of the study. The study used cognitive test scores from 398 participants of both genders who were primarily in their 70s. After controlling for outside variables like education and genetics, the researchers found that women’s test scores fell by an average of two points per year, compared to just one point for men. This wasn’t the only negative effect for women: their standard of life—how they performed at home, work, and with family—also fell faster than men. A vast majority—nearly two-thirds of the five million Americans afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease—are women, which scientists note can be traced to the fact that women live longer, but the reasons for their decline have remained indeterminate. \[[New York _Times_\]](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/22/health/women-decline-toward-dementia-faster-than-men-study-suggests.html?partner=socialflow&smid=tw-nytimes&%5Fr=1) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3965890/women-alzheimers-men/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3965890/women-alzheimers-men/"},"headline":"Study Finds That Women Slip Into Dementia Faster Than Men","datePublished":"2015-07-21T15:15:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:06:20.413Z","description":"The study has no medical implications quite yet","url":"https://time.com/3965890/women-alzheimers-men/","keywords":["Mental Health","women","Research","Dementia","Men","Alzheimer's"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d09ef693c778245/69885bbce53aba1bfd4deb17/dementia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tanya Basu","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3d09ef693c778245/69885bbce53aba1bfd4deb17/dementia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Senior woman covering face with her hands","caption":"Senior woman covering face with her hands","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/mental-health/","name":"Mental Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3965890/women-alzheimers-men/","name":"Study Finds That Women Slip Into Dementia Faster Than Men"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Ground Breaking Women Alzheimer's Study","description":"A new Alzheimer's Association study finds that women far more susceptable to the disease than men.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/7CumxY4I/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-03-19T13:35:55.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7CumxY4I.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3965890/women-alzheimers-men/","duration":"PT1M54S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3965890/women-alzheimers-men/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```