Dr. Rachel Whitmer quoted in national press on pregnancy and dementia risk

Rachel Whitmer,  Professor and Epidemiology Division Chief, recently presented research conducted while at Kaiser Permanente Divison of Research at the 2018 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Chicago, Il. The study analyzed health information from more than 14,500 women members of Kaiser Permanente for nearly 50 years, tracking reproductive milestones and correlated this information with records of dementia diagnosis. They found that women who had 3 or more children had a 12% lower risk of developing dementia compared to women with one child. And women who had miscarriages were at higher risk of developing dementia compared to women who did not; each miscarriage was linked to an 8% increased risk. When women began menstruating also seemed to influence dementia risk. Those whose first periods occurred at 16 years or later had a 22% greater risk of developing dementia compared to women who got their first period between ages 10 years and 13 years.

Dr. Whitmer is quoted in the article: "Everyone brushed it off to the fact that women were living longer," says Rachel Whitmer, professor of epidemiology at University of California, Davis. "Now science is saying, wait, that is not the end of the story."

Dr. Whitmer's study received numerous mentions in top news outlets including NPR, NBC News, CBS News, US News and World Report, The Washington Post as well as AARP.org and WebMD and many local news programs.