This discovery came after experts found that higher exposure to estrogen throughout a woman’s life can actually lead to a healthier brain.
Women who have a “longer reproductive lifespan,” or who have had multiple children, will be more exposed to this hormone.
The researchers found that this appears to be associated with a lower risk of cerebrovascular disease, which is linked to cognitive impairment and dementia.
A separate study from 2021 found that women exposed to higher amounts of estrogen had greater amounts of gray matter in their brains.
Gray matter is a major part of the nervous system, and is involved in sensory perception, such as vision, hearing, memory, speech, and decision-making.
Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York found that for every additional year a woman is exposed to estrogen in her life, the average volume of gray matter in certain areas of the brain increases by 1 percent.
With each additional child a woman gives birth, the volume of gray matter increases by 2 percent.
