Male brains age faster than female brains: what scientists have discovered
Scientists worldwide continue to investigate the complex processes of brain aging and their impact on health across genders.
The latest research, published in the esteemed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals that male brains tend to undergo more pronounced structural changes over time compared to female brains.
Extensive studies analyzing over 12,000 MRI scans from nearly 5,000 healthy individuals aged 17 to 95 have shown that, with age, men experience a more significant reduction in key brain regions associated with memory, movement, and visual processing.
Notably, the postcentral cortex, responsible for touch, pain, and body position sensations, shrinks by approximately 2% annually in men, whereas in women, this decline is about 1.2%.
This difference raises critical questions about the rate of brain aging among genders and why women remain more vulnerable to neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s disease.
Of particular interest is the fact that men exhibit greater cortical thinning in areas like the parahippocampal and fusiform regions, which play crucial roles in memory and face recognition.
Additionally, a more noticeable decrease in subcortical structures such as the putamen and caudate nucleus, responsible for coordinating movements, has been observed in men.
Conversely, women tend to have more pronounced ventriculomegaly—expansion of brain ventricles filled with cerebrospinal fluid—a typical indicator of aging, though overall structural losses are less severe.
These findings suggest that brain aging involves gender-specific mechanisms, but they do not fully explain why women are more susceptible to neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 57 million people worldwide suffered from dementia in 2021, with nearly 10 million new cases annually.
Moreover, Alzheimer’s disease is nearly twice as common among women globally.
For a 45-year-old woman, the lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer’s is one in five, compared to one in ten for a man.
Recent studies indicate that structural brain differences with age are unlikely to be the primary cause of this disparity.
Experts point out that the risk factors for Alzheimer’s involve a complex interplay of hormonal changes post-menopause, immune and vascular differences, and genetic predispositions.
It is also significant that women tend to live longer—on average 73.8 years compared to 68.4 years for men in 2021—allowing more women to reach an age where the disease risk peaks.
Data from the National Health Service in the UK show that most Alzheimer’s diagnoses occur in people over 65.
Despite ongoing research, the biological reasons behind women’s increased vulnerability to Alzheimer’s remain insufficiently understood.
Scientists emphasize that addressing this issue requires more than just analyzing brain structures; hormonal, genetic, and aging interactions are key factors.
Furthermore, gender influences immune function and disease susceptibility, with women more frequently affected by autoimmune disorders like lupus and multiple sclerosis, while men are more prone to Parkinson’s disease.
These disparities result from complex interactions among sex chromosomes, hormones, and environmental factors, including the microbiome, shaping immune responses and disease patterns.