Nearly Half of Women and a Third of Men Will Develop Dementia, Stroke, or Parkinson's, Study Says

A 26-year study of 12,102 individuals published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry found that 48.2 percent of women and 36.2 percent of men older than 45 are likely to develop either dementia, stroke, or Parkinson's in their lifetime, reports CNN . From 1990 to 2016, 1,489 subjects were diagnosed with dementia, 1,285 with stroke, and 263 with Parkinson's, while 438 people were diagnosed with multiple diseases. Women had a greater risk of developing dementia and stroke, with a 31.4 percent chance of dementia after 45 years old versus an 18.6 percent chance among men. Women also had a 21.6 percent chance of developing stroke versus 19.3 percent of men. The odds of developing Parkinson's were almost identical for men and women, with women having a 4.3 percent risk to men's 4.9 percent risk. Between 45 and 65 years of age, women have a 2.6 percent chance and men a 3.2 percent chance of developing one of the three conditions. The study's authors stress that if any of the three conditions are delayed by one, two, or three years, the potential risk of developing the disease falls 20 percent to 50 percent.