Is gender (male and female) a factor in memory loss in elderly with Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common types of Dementia that cause the death or malfunction of nerve cells in the brain. Eventually, this death or malfunction of brain cells leads to changes in behavior, memory patterns, and affects the thinking abilities among the affected persons. In the case of Alzheimer’s disease, the changes within the brain cells of individuals impairs their abilities to perform normal functions within the body. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for an approximate 60 to 80 per cent of all cases of dementia (Alzheimer’s Association, 2012). Alzheimer’s disease is the fifth leading cause of death among people aged 65 and above, and sixth overall cause of death among Americans (Alzheimer’s Association, 2012). Prominent characteristics of dementia include difficulties in remembering names of individuals and events within the recent past. Most symptoms begin with depression and apathy and later develop into disorientation, impaired judgment, and difficulty in communication, behavioral changes, walking, and swallowing (Alzheimer’s Association, 2012). While the causes of Alzheimer’s disease are yet known, experts believe that multiple causes are responsible for causing the disease.
National estimates show that the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease will continue increasing each year because of the increase in the number of American’s aged 65 and above (Alzheimer’s Association, 2012). This means that the number of cases involving Alzheimer’s will continue to escalate as the baby boomers continue to age. By 2012, an estimated 5.4 million Americans had dementia (Alzheimer’s Association, 2012). Out of the 5.4 million people, 5.2 million were aged 65 and older. Alzheimer’s disease affects men and women disproportionately, in terms of both severity and terms of prevalence. Of the 5.4 million people affected with AD in the America, 3.4 million are women. It is estimated that, by 2050, an estimated 21 million Americans aged above 65 years will be affected by Alzheimer’s disease (McGhee, et. al, 2014). According to a report released by the Alzheimer’s Association, the lifetime risk of women aged 65 developing Alzheimer’s is twice as much compared to men in that category. This means that memory and thinking challenges will be more prevalent among women than men will. For this reason, identifying solutions or preventive measures becomes critical.
Statement of the problem
Findings from selected literature show that the characteristics and prevalence of individuals with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementias vary along lines of gender, race, and ethnicity. Women are family caregivers and caregivers tend to suffer from depression. Equally, women tend to live longer than men thereby explaining the large proportion of women living with Dementia. Women are more likely to have lower social support levels coupled with poorer physical and psychological health than men are. This influences their interpretation of normal operations thereby affecting their psychological and emotional wellbeing. Eventually, they begin to suffer from memory loss and other symptoms of AD.
A recent study conducted by the Mayor Clinic on 1450 elderly people showed that men were more likely to develop Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) than women with or without any memory loss accompaniment were (Gauthier, Leuzy, Racine, & Rosa-Neto, 2013). Contrary to previous research studies that suggested that, women were more likely to suffer from the effects of dementia; these findings showed that men are more likely to suffer from cognitive impairment (Gauthier, Leuzy, Racine, & Rosa-Neto, 2013). These differences in the memory loss based on gender lines calls for the need of further research to help to uncover the underlying effects of gender in patients suffering from AD.
Research questions
A study of this nature calls for the development of research questions to guide and limit the scope of this research. For this reason, the following research questions are proposed
- Is there any relationship between gender differences and memory loss among elderly patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease?
- Are gender differences a deciding factor among patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease?
- Do sex differences change incidences of Alzheimer’s disease over time?
- Do gender and sex differences affect the rate of progression, risk, and response to treatment of AD?
- Even though AD is a neurodegenerative disease, does biological factors or mechanisms that underlie differences in sex play a significant role in influencing memory loss?
Specific hypothesis
The following hypothesis were developed based on the analysis of the research questions above.
- Gender differences is a contributing factor to mental impairment among patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease
- Memory loss among elderly women is higher as compared to the same ratio among men
- The rate of progression and risk factors to AD is different among women than men
Methodology
Research Design
This proposed study will adopt an experimental research design whereby the relationship among research variables will be examined. Emphasis will be laid on strong causal interpretations between independent and dependent variables. By using this research design, it will be easy to control extraneous variables while at the same time manipulating the independent variable in a systematic manner. The grouping variable is gender while memory loss would constitute the dependent variable.
Participants
This study intends to analyze data from 100 elderly patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease after subjecting to different conditions that will test their memory capabilities. This sample size will be composed of an equal number of men and women. The patients in this category will be aged 65 and above.
Procedures
Patients in this sample will be examined for a period of 12 months by subjecting them to different tests to help in examining their mild cognitive impairment and other instances of memory loss. Data to be collected during the study include verbal skills, visiospacial skills (that will require patients to identify objects within their visual gazes), episodic memory challenges (whereby patients will be required to remember specific activities within the recent past), and other types of sematic memory that will test the general knowledge of patients.
Analysis
The study involves the assessment of two groups to assess the differences from each other. For this reason, the T-test was selected because it helps to compare the statistical means between male and female. This test is simple, easy to use, straightforward, and applies to a wide range of situations. Examining the nature of the variable within the study, whereby alterations of the dependent variable can easily be documented becomes easy to test the significance.
Discussion
This study expects to face a number of challenges. First, manipulating the independent variable would not be easy, both ethically and practically. Second, controlling extraneous variables involves the creation of additional situations that might alter their normal reactions. Third, monitoring the progress of 100 elderly patients over a period of 12 months is likely to raise challenges that might be beyond the scope of the study. Finally yet important, the statistical test proposed in this study might not yield an accurate picture of the situation. Nonetheless, I hope that findings from this study will provide a benefit to future research studies and developments in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
References
Alzheimer’s Association (2012). 2012 Alzheimer’s disease Facts and Figures, Alzheimer’s and Demnetia, 8(2): 1-62
Gauthier, S. S., Leuzy, A. A., Racine, E. E., & Rosa-Neto, P. P. (2013). Diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's disease: Past, present and future ethical issues. Progress In Neurobiology, 110102-113
McGhee, D. M., et. al (2014). A Systematic Review of Biomarkers for Disease Progression in Alzheimer's Disease. Plos ONE, 9(2), 1-9
