Sex/Gender Differences in Verbal Fluency and Verbal-Episodic Memory: A Meta-Analysis.

Women are thought to fare better in verbal abilities, especially in verbal-fluency and verbal-memory tasks. However, the last meta-analysis on sex/gender differences in verbal fluency dates from 1988. Although verbal memory has only recently been investigated meta-analytically, a comprehensive meta-analysis is lacking that focuses on verbal memory as it is typically assessed, for example, in neuropsychological settings. On the basis of 496 effect sizes and 355,173 participants, in the current meta-analysis, we found that women/girls outperformed men/boys in phonemic fluency (ds = 0.12-0.13) but not in semantic fluency (ds = 0.01-0.02), for which the sex/gender difference appeared to be category-dependent. Women/girls also outperformed men/boys in recall (d = 0.28) and recognition (ds = 0.12-0.17). Although effect sizes are small, the female advantage was relatively stable over the past 50 years and across lifetime. Published articles reported stronger female advantages than unpublished studies, and first authors reported better performance for members of their own sex/gender. We conclude that a small female advantage in phonemic fluency, recall, and recognition exists and is partly subject to publication bias. Considerable variance suggests further contributing factors, such as participants' language and country/region.

Public knowledge about dementia risk reduction in Norway.

BACKGROUND: Several modifiable lifestyle risk factors for dementia have been identified, but it is unclear how much the Norwegian public knows about the relationship between lifestyle and brain health. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate knowledge about modifiable dementia risk and protective factors and beliefs and attitudes towards dementia and dementia risk reduction in a randomly selected subsample of the Norwegian population. METHODS: The total sample (n = 1435) included individuals aged 40-70 years from four counties (Oslo, Innlandet, Nordland and Trøndelag) in Norway. Two online questionnaires were used to measure (1) awareness about dementia risk reduction and (2) an individual`s motivation to change behaviour for dementia risk reduction (MOCHAD-10). RESULTS: Of the participants, 70% were aware of the potential of dementia risk reduction in general. Physical inactivity (86%), cognitive inactivity (84%) and social isolation (80%) were the most frequently recognised dementia risk factors. On the other hand, diabetes (26%), coronary heart disease (19%), hearing loss (18%) and chronic kidney disease (7%) were less often recognised as dementia risk factors. Comparing men and women, the only significant difference was that women were more likely to report parents with dementia as a risk factor compared to men. Gender, age and educational differences were seen in beliefs and attitudes towards dementia prevention:women reported more negative feelings and attitudes towards dementia than men;those aged 40-49 years - more likely than older age groups - reported that 'knowing family members with dementia' or 'having risk factors' made them believe they had to change their lifestyle and behaviour. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that 70% of the Norwegian public are aware of the potential for dementia risk reduction in general. However, there are major gaps in existing knowledge, particularly for cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, hypercholesterolemia and metabolic factors (diabetes, obesity). These findings underline the importance of further informing the Norwegian public about lifestyle-related risk and protective factors of dementia. Differences in beliefs and attitudes towards dementia risk prevention by age, gender and education require tailored public risk reduction interventions.

Blood pressure trajectories over 35 years and dementia risk: A retrospective study: The HUNT study.

High blood pressure is a well-established risk factor of dementia. However, the timing of the risk remains controversial. The aim of the present study was to compare trajectories of systolic blood pressure (SBP) over a 35-year follow-up period in the Health Survey in Trøndelag (HUNT) from study wave 1 to 4 in people with and without a dementia diagnosis at wave 4 (HUNT4). This is a retrospective cohort study of participants aged ≥ 70 years in HUNT4, where 9,720 participants were assessed for dementia. In the HUNT study all residents aged ≥ 20 years have been invited to four surveys: HUNT1 1984-86, HUNT2 1995-97, HUNT3 2006-08 and HUNT4 2017-19. The study sample was aged 70-102 years (mean 77.6, SD 6.0) at HUNT4, 54% were women and 15.5% had dementia, 8.8% had Alzheimer's disease (AD), 1.6% had vascular dementia (VaD) and 5.1% had other types of dementia. Compared to those without dementia at HUNT4, those with dementia at HUNT4 had higher SBP at HUNT1 and HUNT2, but lower SBP at HUNT4. These differences at HUNT1 and 2 were especially pronounced among women. Results did not differ across birth cohorts. For dementia subtypes at HUNT4, the VaD group had a higher SBP than the AD group at HUNT2 and 3. Age trajectories in SBP showed that the dementia group experienced a steady increase in SBP until 65 years of age and a decrease from 70 to 90 years. SBP in the no- dementia group increased until 80 years before it leveled off from 80 to 90 years. The present study confirms findings of higher midlife SBP and lower late-life SBP in people with dementia. This pattern may have several explanations and it highlights the need for close monitoring of BP treatment in older adults, with frequent reappraisal of treatment needs.