Women with at least three children could reduce likelihood of developing dementia, study reveals
Those with at least three children were 12 per cent less likely to develop the condition than those with one
A WOMAN’S dementia risk depends on how many kids she has, a study suggests.
Those with at least three were 12 per cent less likely to get the disease than women with one child.
Each miscarriage increased the risk by nine per cent.
Having a first period at 16-plus meant a 31 per cent greater danger than at 13.
And those who started the menopause before 45 were 28 per cent more likely to develop dementia.
Two in three of the 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK are female.
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Californian docs analysed data on 14,595 women. Alzheimer’s Research UK said: “With more women than men affected by dementia, it is important that we unravel the potential biological or social factors behind this difference.
“Changes in reproductive health over a woman’s lifetime could be having lasting impact on brain health.
“Unravelling what underlies this apparent link between pregnancy and cognitive health could help in the development of new treatments or risk reduction strategies."
HRT ok for brain
HRT does not increase the risk of dementia despite previous fears, a scientist has found.
Dr Carey Gleason, of the University of Wisconsin, US, studied 662 post-menopausal women using the hormones.
He concluded: “There isn’t a link to brain decline.”
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