This is very interesting. The article points out twice that there is no evidence it's causal, but does proposr some potential causal mechanisms, all told a pretty reasonable summary of the finding.
I'm curious to know if there is any info related to alzheimers and sex drive. The 70% is based on chance developing alzheimers in the next six years, I wonder if there is any relation between a profile who would seek Viagra - I guess that would be people interested in sex, have an available partner, but having trouble - and one who would be less likely to get alzheimers soon.
I have a funny/sad/gross anecode: my flat neighbor had alzheimer's and I helped his wife for a few years, but really nothing much/special -- just getting him out of bed or off the toilet when he wouldn't budge (I can only imagine what his wife went through).
But very frequently when he was on the toilet he would play with his erm... sword and unsheathe it (Easter Europe, I'm cut, he wasn't) and his wife asked me why he did that?
And I was like.... "erm.... I think that question is overdue by about 40 years.."
Having a partner might lower the risk of Alzheimer's because having someone to talk to keeps your mind in a working condition. But also, taking Viagra means you are more likely to have sex and having sex might be the thing brain needs for "exercise".
I find it somewhat hilarious to think that soon the Covid vaccine infomercials might be extended with "To keep you safe also remember to have sex" .
Or: Developing Alzheimer's makes you less interested in sex, makes your partner less interested in sex with you (possibly via creating problems with the relationship), and/or otherwise creates obstacles to sex.
The link talks about 70% decrease of Alzheimer risk over a 6 year period of Viagra use (vs lack thereof).
But early Alzheimer signs have been shown to appear up to 18 years before diagnosis. Memory and thinking tests for these signs from 13 to 18 years before diagnosis show 85% higher risk in those failing. [0]
So 6 years is actually a very short window to claim causality, especially when it can be guessed through other means with (my guess) higher accuracy.
I'm curious to know if there is any info related to alzheimers and sex drive. The 70% is based on chance developing alzheimers in the next six years, I wonder if there is any relation between a profile who would seek Viagra - I guess that would be people interested in sex, have an available partner, but having trouble - and one who would be less likely to get alzheimers soon.