WASHINGTON, D.C.: Women are less prone to memory problems in old age but men are less likely to be affected by disabilities, a study suggests.
The amount of time that men spent in a state of ‘mild cognitive impairment’ increased slightly, scientists from Newcastle and Cambridge Universities found.
It contradicts other research which predicts that rates of dementia will increase as people live for longer.
However, men’s life expectancy has increased more than women’s since the 1990s, the research showed.
Between 1991 and 2011, the remaining lifespan of women aged 65 in England went up by 3.6 years, and that of men by 4.5 years.
While for women the amount of time spent coping with moderate or severe disability had increased by seven months, and with mild disability by 2.5 years, the same trend was not seen in men.
Men had only 1.3 more years of mild disability and saw no increase at all in the length of time they were affected by moderate or severe disability.