Public Health

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Public Health
• Gerontology

Background:

• Dementia incidence is rapidly increasing globally, particularly among females.
• Identifying modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors (RF) is critical for dementia prevention.
• Sex-specific RF and their interactions require further investigation due to higher dementia prevalence in females.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze common RF for cognitive decline (CD) using network analysis.
• To compare sex-specific networks of RF for dementia.
• To identify unique RF and interactions influencing dementia risk in males and females.

Main Methods:

• Network analysis was performed on data from 411 individuals with CD.
• Sex-specific networks were created to examine RF, including non-modifiable (e.g., age) and modifiable (e.g., sleep, alcohol use) factors.
• Node centrality was assessed to determine the relative importance of each RF.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in overall network structure between male and female CD groups.
• Male networks exhibited higher global strength (greater connectivity) than female networks.
• Key central nodes differed: systolic blood pressure, diagnosis, age, and sleep quality in females; memory and cognitive medication use in males.

Conclusions:

• Unique sex-specific network patterns of RF for CD were identified.
• Differences in RF connectivity and central nodes highlight the need for sex-disaggregated analyses.
• Further research integrating biomarkers is needed to understand sex-specific RF influence on dementia risk.