New Website Offers Information About Women and Alzheimer’s

Photo by lboncar on Flickr/Creative Commons

Of the 5.4 million Americans with Alzheimer’s disease, a disproportionate number—3.2 million—are women. Though researchers are still trying to understand why that is, a new website aims to provide as much information as possible.

The website, Women and Alzheimer’s, was created by the Wellesley-based Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, and will share the latest research on women and Alzheimer’s, help raise money for new studies, and highlight inspirational women who are fighting the neurodegenerative condition.

Currently, a 65-year-old woman is twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s as a man. By age 75, she’s three times more likely.

“What makes the plight of women with Alzheimer’s especially devastating is the simple fact that women are the primary caregivers to the vast majority of those who have the disease,” Barbara Chambers, senior engagement officer for Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, says in a statement. “The burden to the caregiver is not only emotional, it is also physical and financial. This makes it even more difficult to deal with the large number of women afflicted by this disease as they age.”

The site is also helpful for those who are simply curious about the disease, offering pages about its signs and symptoms; its risks and influences; how to “better your brain”; and costs and statistics associated with women and Alzheimer’s.

“We need to better understand why Alzheimer’s so disproportionately affects women,” Tim Armour, president and CEO of Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, says in the statement, “and what it means for those who are afflicted and their families.”