To think that Dementia/Alzheimers is a woman's disease.

[Elendon]

Two thirds of those who die from the disease are women. This is an awful statistic. I'm shocked.

www.alzheimers.org.uk/statistics

It costs billions of pounds per year to the NHS and the Carer system. Note: my aunt has alzheimers. Why are women so adversely affected? Surely this has to be corrected as a matter of urgency!

[Gingernaut]

It used to be that heart disease was the biggest killer, big strides have been made to reduce those deaths.

Now everyone is living a little bit longer, more diseases of old age are becoming apparent.

Statistically, women live longer than men, outnumbering men almost 2:1 beyond a certain age.

Those people who achieve old age are far more likely to get dementia (Alzheimer's, vascular, Lewy body, Pick's whichever) and so women make the greater proportion of sufferers.

As the gap between male and female life expectancy shortens, I would expect to see a flattening out of the difference and start to see the figures approach 50/50.

Sad statistics. Let's hope there's as much effort put into fighting dementia as there is heart disease.

[BeautyGoesToBenidorm]

Elendon, I completely agree. I suspect a great many people who are in hospices would choose the assisted dying option, if they felt they could.

Of course, it's not for everyone. My DF is strongly opposed to it, despite the course his death will most likely take. He wants to live at any cost, as do many others in his position. I know, unequivocally, that a slow decline is not for me. I'd feel much better if I knew that an ending of my choosing was available, legally and as easily as possible, should I need it.

[expatinscotland]

'I've personally seen hospices turn away too many dying people to believe their assurances about providing adequate pain relief for end of life care.'

We also need to be aware and accept that there are quite a few diseases for which we do not and may never have adequate pain relief or drugs to give comfort for in the end of life. There is no way to make the patient fully pain free or comfortable. And again, in such cases, patients should have teh right to end their lives with whatever assistance required.

[Me2017]

My father died of it. It may be more women have it simply because they live longer. However loads of men do have it too.

[expatinscotland]

'Sad statistics. Let's hope there's as much effort put into fighting dementia as there is heart disease.'

Then something else will take its place because as much as people don't like the idea, the human body is not meant to live and live and live.

[crashdoll]

Given the steep rise in people being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, there is expected to be a corresponding rise in people who will develop vascular dementia. That is incredibly scary. It's a cruel disease.

[ICanTuckMyBoobsInMyPockets]

I haven't read the whole thread, so sorry if someone's mentioned it already.

Earlier this year there was a study on sleep and how they discovered that the brain 'washes itself' during sleep.

They said there may be a link to dementia/Alzheimer's later in life, making women more susceptible due to less sleep because of child-rearing.

Which makes sense.

[MissMargie]

The life expectancy differences is due to men smoking more than women
This is chAnging as the generation who smoked in the 40s- 60s are dying out (or have died early). They were mostly men .
More recently fewer people smoke but of the ones that do the number of women who do has increased- thus evening up the life expectancy between men and women in the future.

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

My DPs grandfather has dementia. He also has a savings account and the same belief that he'd go out in Switzerland, that no damn brain condition was going to take him out in an undignified way after he'd struggle through the wars, that he'd detest to be in a care home.

The dementia was cruel, he went from being still 90% him with the drugs doing well to slow progress of the disease to being 10% him and unable to make the decision to go to Switzerland, let alone make the journey. His specialist said the same always happens; that you'd have to go whilst you were healthy and nobody wants to do that. The outlook looks good, until it doesn't.

He's not in a care home but caring for him is hard work and the whole family are involved, I can't imagine how hard it would be if they were not.

I'm lucky in a weird way because somehow he remembers who I am, mostly, and whilst he's lost in his own mind; he's such a lovely man most of the time. His anger and violent outbursts are reserved for his wife, so far, and she does all the physical caring so he keeps his dignity.

It's no better for him than it would be for me. It's a horrendous way to go. I hope to god we find a cure, or at least an effective control, very soon.

[brasty]

Upper class men already live longer than women. Class has a big impact on life expectancy.

[BubaMarra]

Re: women and heart desase. Estrogen is one of the factors which give strong protection to women against heart desease and the reason why on average they live longer. They start suffering from heart desease on average 10 years later than men and by the time estrogen role in female physiology desapears, the incidence of heart desease in those two groups equalize.

[MadameCholetsDirtySecret]

My DF has advanced dementia. It is horrific. He can't speak or understand and although I sometimes make him laugh or smile, it is becoming rarer and rarer.
Bishops in the HoL should have no say in any law about end of life choices. After all isn't it their god that finds such spectacularly cruel ways to get us to heaven.

[BeautyGoesToBenidorm]

It's no better for him than it would be for me. It's a horrendous way to go. I hope to god we find a cure, or at least an effective control, very soon.

Anchor, research and trials are under way all the time. A lot of treatments being developed that can help dementia/Alzheimer's patients are rolling right off the back of the research into treatments for Huntington's disease - the research is extremely well funded and there's tremendous hope

[harderandharder2breathe]

I wonder if women are more likely to be unofficial carers for husbands with dementia and so it's never diagnosed. Although I suppose for it to be a cause of death it would be pretty advanced

YABU to label it as a woman's disease. . Breast cancel is often seen as a woman's disease but does affect men too. Ovarian cancer is a woman's disease because men don't have ovaries

[Elendon]

It's no way for a human being to live. It's inhuman.

We do all think that we are going to die in our sleep, just like we all think we are going to have a perfect life. Nothing is that simple.

What is clear is that more women suffer from this. 66% of women as opposed to 34% of men.

That doesn't reflect deaths in old age.

Women live to 83 and men to 79 on percentage. Women live on average 5% longer than men.

www.bbc.com/future/story/20151001-why-women-live-longer-than-men

[Elendon]

harder

Men can only die of prostate cancer - it's the same rate as breast cancer.

[CockacidalManiac]

Men also die of breast cancer

[BeautyGoesToBenidorm]

My dad had prostate cancer a few years ago, he was unable to have surgery to remove the prostate thanks to his congestive heart failure. He was very lucky it was successfully put into remission with radiotherapy. I had no idea until then how common prostate cancer is - it's just not talked about like breast cancer is.

[AliceThrewTheFookingGlass]

Breast cancer is seen to be exclusive to women but men get it too

Yes breast cancer In men is more common than most people realise. Which is why I don't thinks it's right to label it as a woman's disease. A man who has signs and symptoms of breast cancer might not get checked out as quickly as a woman would because it's seen as a disease that only affects women.

Dementia/Alzheimer's is awful no matter the sex of the person suffering. your OP implies that just because it effects more women than men it's somehow more serious and needs to be corrected urgently. I find that an odd view if I'm honest. There needs to be a cure or an effective control because it's a horrible disease for everyone involved, not because it happens to affect more women than men.

[passingthrough1]

I'm really confused as to what you mean to correct it though? (Give more men dementia?)

I'm sure there will not be a "cure" for dementia but maybe like cancer there will be many mini cures and we will be able to cure some types of dementia some of the time etc, will some types harder or impossible to treat.

We all have to hope to be taken quickly by a short illness or accident. Dementia seems like one of the worst ways to go though crueler for the families and friends than the person suffering

[brasty]

In the UK as a whole, in last year statistics are available, 73 men died of breast cancer and 11,360 women died. It is largely a disease that women get.

[Elendon]

Dementia seems like one of the worst ways to go though crueler for the families and friends than the person suffering

You have obviously not seen a person suffering from Alzheimers/Dementia. It is painful to watch the person suffering from this.

[Elendon]

And would you say that about a cancer sufferer? It's painful for the sufferer but not so much for those watching them suffer?

[Elendon]

So this disease affects the brain. Are we all in agreement that the brain as an organ is the same for females/males as is say kidneys, lungs and heart, pancreas.

So why if the brain is the same in both sexes are more women prone to three times more likely to have this disease as men?

Sleep deprivation during childbirth, could be a factor, plus pmt and pnd. Are we building a life up for ourselves to suffer an awful death?

[Tfoot75]

Not sure how to post a link! "http://www.alzheimers.net/2015-10-14/how-alzheimers-could-be-type-2-diabetes/"

The main cause of death among males is heart disease, which can be caused by diabetes. As posted up thread females are less likely to suffer from heart disease for hormonal reasons, so instead they are living longer and are probably more likely to develop Alzheimer's or dementia statistically as there are more females who haven't already died of heart disease if that makes sense! Both are strongly linked to diabetes type 2 anyway, which is scary for future life expectancies.