by Anna Dé, WBP Policy and Advocacy Lead
On 16 May 2022, at the start of Dementia Action Week in the UK, Alzheimer’s Research UK launched a report on The Impact of Dementia on Women.
As an international non-profit organisation (based in Switzerland) studying sex and gender determinants of brain and mental health to achieve precision medicine, we know only too well at the Women’s Brain Project that women bear a disproportionate weight of the impact of dementia.
Some of the key findings from the report:
- Dementia has been the leading cause of death for women since 2011
- Two in three people with dementia (65%) are women, and longer life expectancy alone does not explain this disparity.
- Women are also more likely to care for a loved one with dementia – making up around two thirds of unpaid carers.
- Women are less likely to be included in clinical trials
Dr Antonella Santuccione Chadha, co-founder and CEO of the Women’s Brain Project, says:
“We salute Alzheimer’s Research UK for this report, and we hope to have the opportunity to work closely with them and other dementia stakeholders to raise further awareness and find solutions to address dementia’s disproportionate effect on women.”
We have a strong presence in the UK and we fully support the recommendations put forward by Alzheimer’s Research UK in their report:
-
For the UK government:
- The Dementia and Women’s Health Strategies must recognise dementia’s disproportionate effect on women. The government should take action to address this as part of their implementation.
-
For regulators and funding bodies:
- These organisations must set out expectations and give clear guidance to:
– reduce the gender data gap in research.
– improve the diversity of participants in clinical trials.
- These organisations must set out expectations and give clear guidance to:
-
For research organisations and funders:
- This includes the life science industry, NHS, government, academic institutions and charities. We should have clear plans to “break the bias” and show that female researchers can take part on an equal basis with male researchers.
And while the above-mentioned report focuses on the UK, the issues it highlights are the same in other countries around the world. Therefore, these recommendations should be taken seriously by governments, regulators, funding bodies, researchers, and funders across the globe.
The Women’s Brain Project publishes extensively in the field of dementia. Most notably, we published a landmark Elsevier book “Sex and gender differences in Alzheimer’s Disease” in 2021. Understanding sex and gender differences in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease will lead to novel insights into disease mechanisms and will be crucial for personalised disease management strategies and solutions, involving both the patient and their family.
