- A large meta-study finds that older people whose hypertension is under control have no greater risk of dementia than a person without hypertension.
- However, people with uncontrolled hypertension are at a higher risk of dementia.
- The study hopes to clarify the relationship between hypertension and dementia.
It is known that hypertension, or high blood pressure, is linked to dementia, but in what way has been unclear.
Now, an expansive new meta-study finds that older people who continue to take antihypertensive medications have a 26% lower risk of all-cause dementia than people with untreated hypertension.
Hypertension is the greatest risk factor for dementia, affecting well over
The new study is a meta-study, or study of studies, involving 17 different investigations. It is unusual for its size and scope and significant for its inclusion of 34,519 community-dwelling older adults from 15 different countries located in Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, and North and South America.
The participants’ mean age was 72.5, and 58.4% of them were female. From that group, 14,759 individuals — about half — had treated hypertension, while 2,881 participants had hypertension that was not treated. There were 10,402 individuals who served as healthy controls. All were dementia-free at the start of the study and were followed for an average of 4.3 years.
The researchers confirmed that untreated hypertension was associated with the development of dementia.
The study is published in
The study’s lead author, neuroscientist Dr. Matthew Lennon, from New South Wales, Australia, explained:
“Previously, studies have found variously that antihypertensive use in late-life may increase dementia risk, decrease it, or have no effect at all. There have been…
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