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Elderly women with low bone mass may have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to a study.
However, it is likely the lack of estrogen that goes along with low bone mass, rather than the low bone mass itself, that increases the risk.
Past studies have shown that when women reach menopause their estrogen production decreases, which leads to accelerated bone loss. The amount of bone mass that a woman has in her older years is an indicator of her lifelong estrogen exposure.
For instance, if a woman in her 70s has low bone mass, her exposure to estrogen throughout her life may not have been as high as it should have been.
Additionally, previous research has found that estrogen may protect the brain from memory loss, according to researchers.
In the study, researchers recorded bone mass measurements for 987 men and women with an average age 76 years. They then followed them for up to 13 years and tracked who developed Alzheimer's or dementia.
Results showed that women with the lowest bone mass measurements were more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's or dementia as women with stronger bones.
Bone mass had no relationship to Alzheimer's or dementia among men, which suggests that changes in estrogen affect men and women differently.
Although more studies are needed to confirm the findings, the research suggests that lifetime exposure to estrogen may be useful in preventing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, researchers said.
Annual Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society in Baltimore May 15, 2003
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