Women have such a natural lead in memory tasks that it's accidentally hiding early Alzheimer's signs.
March 19, 2026
Original Paper
The Role of Verbal Memory in Masking Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease
medRxiv · 2025.11.07.25339777
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The Takeaway
Because women are typically better at verbal recall, they often score within the 'normal' range on standard dementia tests even while their brains are accumulating significant pathology. This results in a 'masked' period where the disease progresses undetected, leading to a much steeper and more sudden decline once they are finally diagnosed.
From the abstract
INTRODUCTION Verbal memory tests like the Reys Auditory Learning Test (RAVLT) are widely used in Alzheimers disease assessments without consideration of females well-known advantages in verbal memory. This study explores if this form of cognitive reserve masks symptoms and delays diagnosis in females. METHODS We employed a retrospective longitudinal cohort design (ADNI, PREVENT-AD) to model Immediate Recall subcomponents on the RAVLT over time in amyloid negative (AB-) cognitively normal partici