Why Asian American women are more likely to develop dementia than men

Asian American women may face a higher lifetime risk of developing dementia than their male counterparts partly because men are more likely to die before the disease can develop, according to new research.

The large-scale study of older adults in California found this pattern across multiple Asian ethnic groups, including Chinese, Filipino, Japanese and South Asian participants. Researchers say the findings highlight key gender and mortality differences in dementia risk among Asian American and white adults.

The study, conducted by Kaiser Permanente Northern California, analyzed health records from 159,477 adults aged 60 and older who were free of dementia at the start of the study period between 2002 and 2020. Researchers estimated each participant’s lifetime dementia risk from age 60 through 95, taking death into account as a competing event.

The results showed that women had higher lifetime dementia risk than men in all racial and ethnic groups studied. The difference ranged from 7% points higher among Japanese participants to 21% points higher among South Asian participants, indicating that the gender gap varied notably across communities.

The authors noted that factors such as educational attainment, workforce participation and rates of living alone differed by gender and ethnicity and may have influenced lifetime dementia risk.

Previous research has found that early adulthood stress in young adulthood significantly increases the risk of cognitive decline in middle age, suggesting that early lifestyle interventions such as physical activity, balanced diet and smoking cessation may reduce long-term dementia risk. Other studies have also shown that regular digital technology use may offer potential ways to support brain health and resilience as populations age.