Alzheimer's Disease: What Increases Your Risk

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What Increases Your Risk

The main factor that raises your risk for Alzheimer's disease is getting older. About 6 out of 100 people over 65 years and 35 out of 100 people over 85 years have some form of dementia.¹ People rarely have dementia before age 60. Other factors that increase your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease include:

• A family history of Alzheimer's disease, especially if one or more of your parents or siblings has the disease.
• The presence of the apolipoprotein E-4 gene, which increases the chances you will develop Alzheimer's disease.
• Having Down syndrome, which is a genetic disorder that results in mental retardation.
• Having diabetes, which is a condition that causes high blood sugar.
• Taking hormone replacement therapy. Research shows that if you are a woman age 65 or older, your risk for developing dementia (including Alzheimer's disease) increases if you take estrogen or estrogen plus progestin therapy.^{3 4}

Last updated:	November 10, 2008
Author:	Monica Rhodes
Reviewed By:	Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine, Peter J. Whitehouse, MD - Neurology
Editors:	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Pat Truman, MATC