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Sex and gender considerations in Alzheimer's disease: The Women's Brain Project contribution
Castro-Aldrete L, Moser MV, Putignano G, Ferretti MT, Schumacher Dimech A, Santuccione Chadha A.. Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 2023-03-30
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
The global population is expected to have about 131.5 million people living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other dementias by 2050, posing a severe health crisis. Dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that gradually impairs physical and cognitive functions. Dementia has a variety of causes, symptoms, and heterogeneity concerning the influence of sex on prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes. The proportion of male-to-female prevalence varies based on the type of dementia. Despite some types of dementia being more common in men, women have a greater lifetime risk of developing dementia. AD is the most common form of dementia in which approximately two-thirds of the affected persons are women. Profound sex and gender differences in physiology and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions have increasingly been identified. As a result, new approaches to dementia diagnosis, care, and patient journeys should be considered. In the heart of a rapidly aging worldwide population, the Women's Brain Project (WBP) was born from the necessity to address the sex and gender gap in AD. WBP is now a well-established international non-profit organization with a global multidisciplinary team of experts studying sex and gender determinants in the brain and mental health. WBP works with different stakeholders worldwide to help change perceptions and reduce sex biases in clinical and preclinical research and policy frameworks. With its strong female leadership, WBP is an example of the importance of female professionals' work in the field of dementia research. WBP-led peer-reviewed papers, articles, books, lectures, and various initiatives in the policy and advocacy space have profoundly impacted the community and driven global discussion. WBP is now in the initial phases of establishing the world's first Sex and Gender Precision Medicine Institute. This review highlights the contributions of the WBP team to the field of AD. This review aims to increase awareness of potentially important aspects of basic science, clinical outcomes, digital health, policy framework and provide the research community with potential challenges and research suggestions to leverage sex and gender differences. Finally, at the end of the review, we briefly touch upon our progress and contribution toward sex and gender inclusion beyond Alzheimer's disease.
Key findings
- As a result, new approaches to dementia diagnosis, care, and patient journeys should be considered.
Why it matters
This paper from the Women's Brain Project describes sex and gender differences in Alzheimer's disease and argues that new approaches to diagnosis, care and patient journeys should be considered. It is a discussion of sex and gender gaps in research and care, not a study of a treatment, cure or prevention.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 46/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Frontiers in aging neuroscience) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience: journal h-index 174 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2023 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 80 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 16.0 citations a year over 5 year(s) since 2023 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 18.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 4 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 73 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Antonella Santuccione Chadha: h-index 23 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | University of Lucerne: institution h-index 117 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 37065460) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 46 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1105620
- PubMed: 37065460
- Original source →
- Free full text: Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Castro-Aldrete, L., Moser, M. V., Putignano, G., Ferretti, M. T., Schumacher Dimech, A., & Santuccione Chadha, A. (2023). Sex and gender considerations in Alzheimer's disease: The Women's Brain Project contribution. Frontiers in aging neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2023.1105620
Vancouver
Castro-Aldrete L, Moser MV, Putignano G, Ferretti MT, Schumacher Dimech A, Santuccione Chadha A. Sex and gender considerations in Alzheimer's disease: The Women's Brain Project contribution. Frontiers in aging neuroscience. 2023. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2023.1105620. PMID: 37065460.
BibTeX
@article{castroaldrete2023-37065460,
author = {Castro-Aldrete, L. and Moser, M. V. and Putignano, G. and Ferretti, M. T. and Schumacher Dimech, A. and Santuccione Chadha, A.},
title = {{Sex and gender considerations in Alzheimer's disease: The Women's Brain Project contribution}},
journal = {Frontiers in aging neuroscience},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.3389/fnagi.2023.1105620},
pmid = {37065460},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2023.1105620}
}
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