What's Your Dementia Risk Profile? The 13 Factors That Hit Women Hardest

# What's Your Dementia Risk Profile? The 13 Factors That Hit Women Hardest

> **Quick answer:** A landmark 2026 UC San Diego study identified 13 modifiable dementia risk factors — depression, obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, hearing loss, diabetes, hypertension, sleep problems, alcohol use, high cholesterol, poor vision, social isolation, and low education — and found they hit women's cognition harder than men's. Women fall into five risk profiles: The Proactive Protector, The Unaware Risk Carrier, The Stress-Loaded Professional, The Genetic Worrier, and The Late-Start Optimizer. Up to 45% of dementia cases may be preventable through action on these factors.

A new study published in Biology of Sex Differences found that women's brains are disproportionately harmed by modifiable dementia risk factors — and the data from 17,000 American adults makes a compelling case that standard dementia prevention advice may be dangerously undersized for women.

## The UC San Diego Study: What It Found and Why It Matters

On May 19, 2026, researchers at UC San Diego published findings from the Health and Retirement Study — a nationally representative cohort of U.S. mid- to late-life adults. The team analyzed 13 established, modifiable dementia risk factors and asked a question that had rarely been examined directly: do the same risk factors hit men and women differently?

The answer was a resounding yes.