Hormones and dementia – a comparative study of hormonal impairment in post-menopausal women, with and without dementia

CONTEXT: Women seem to be more vulnerable to dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease (AD), than men. There is controversy among studies correlating estrogen deficit to cognitive impairment. Because of the sudden drop of estrogens in menopause, this hormonal deficit could represent one of the risk factors for the larger incidence and prevalence of AD in post-menopausal women. RATIONALE: We therefore wanted to find out if post-menopausal women with dementia, or even in a prior stage, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), would have a more significant deficit of estrogens than post-menopausal women without dementia, or any other type of cognitive problem. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to detect possible differences of the sex hormone levels among post-menopausal women, simultaneously affected by MCI or dementia, in comparison with a control group without cognitive impairment. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A small, multicenter, prospective study was performed on 82 post-menopausal women (41 cases, 41 controls), aged 45–81 years, to investigate their sex hormone balance. The diagnosis of dementia was made according to ICD 9 or 10 and DSM III-R or IV appropriate to the time interval. The diagnosis of probable AD followed the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria. MCI met the Paquid-study criteria. Blood was analyzed in qualified centers for LH, FSH, and 17-β-estradiol. All women went through a thorough psychiatric examination and those with a suspected hormonal impairment were examined by a gynecologist. RESULTS: 15 cases (36.6%) had impaired hormonal function, compared with 8 controls (19.5%). Of the 15 cases with hormonal impairment, 9 had MCI. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary data stress a considerable difference between the sex hormone status of these two populations, showing a tendency towards a more accentuated estrogen deficit linked to cognitive deficit. Enlarging the sample and following the evolution could bring more interesting data.