Women’s Health Month: Women and Alzheimer’s Disease

In honor of Women’s Health Month, Dr. Jessica Caldwell joins the podcast to discuss sex differences in aging and Alzheimer’s disease. She explains some of the ways women experience aging and Alzheimer’s disease differently than men and how she incorporates research findings into patient care. 

Guest: Jessica Caldwell, PhD, director, Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement Prevention Center, Cleveland Clinic in Las Vegas, assistant professor, Case Western Reserve University

Episode Topics

2:59 What are the sex differences in experiencing normal aging and in experiencing Alzheimer’s disease?

7:33 Why are women more affected by Alzheimer’s disease than men?

10:03 Are there other theories that have been speculated but aren’t true regarding the differences between men and women aging?

23:18 What type of prevention approaches do you discuss in your clinic?

Show Notes

The Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement Prevention Center at Cleveland Clinic in Las Vegas is the world’s first Alzheimer’s prevention center exclusively for women. Learn more at their website.

Read the referenced studies by Dr. Caldwell on differences in brain health across sexes through the National Library of Medicine’s website, specifically the 2021 study on tau protein differences, the 2018 study on amyloid level differences, and the 2022 study on cortical thickness differences. 

The Alzheimer’s Association has a women’s and Alzheimer’s webpage to learn more.

The US Department of Health & Human Services Office on Women’s Health sponsors National Women’s Health Week.