Championing women’s brain health

Championing women’s brain health 

A new review from the Women’s Brain Foundation suggests that women’s higher risk of dementia may be linked to estrogen. The hormone appears to influence several dementia risk factors, including cholesterol, smoking, and depression. 

Key findings of the review identified: 

• Estrogen seems to affect several dementia risk factors, especially cholesterol, smoking, and depression. 

• When estrogen levels drop after menopause, it may raise risks linked to heart and metabolic health — showing how important timely hormone and lifestyle support can be. 

• We need more long-term, diverse studies to understand how estrogen might protect the brain throughout a woman’s life. 

The review was led by Dr Sarah Gregory at the University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with an international team including the Women’s Brain Foundation. Sarah leads the IONA Longitudinal Cohort Study at Scottish Brain Sciences. The IONA study is one of the UK’s most detailed efforts to understand how Alzheimer’s and dementia develop over time — and forms a major part of our organisation’s commitment to improving brain health through high-quality, real-world research. 

Scottish Brain Sciences experts Dr Miles Welstead and Professor Craig Ritchie also contributed to the research, strengthening the review with decades of experience in dementia prevention and cognitive sciences. 

Dr Gregory says:
“This was a great team effort to bring together what we know about estrogen and dementia risk. Understanding how hormones interact with these risks may help explain why women are more affected — and it shows just how urgently we need more research in this area.” 

The findings arrive as dementia deaths in Scotland reach a 20-year high. Statistics published this week show that in 2024, 6,612 people died from dementia, and nearly two-thirds were women — a reminder of why this research matters and why Scotland needs leaders in brain-health science. 

You can read the full paper, “Associations of estrogen with modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for dementia: A narrative review,”  at this link Associations of estrogen with modifiable and non‐modifiable risk factors for dementia: A narrative review – Gregory – 2025 – Alzheimer’s & Dementia – Wiley Online Library