High blood pressure speeds up mental decline, but does not fully explain dementia disparities.
A new study has found that high blood pressure speeds up mental decline, but does not fully explain disparities in rates of dementia.
The study, published in the journal Neurology, looked at data from 6,626 people over the age of 50 who did not have dementia at the start of the study. Over the course of 12 years, 1,096 of the participants developed dementia.
The researchers found that people with high blood pressure were more likely to develop dementia than those with normal blood pressure. However, they also found that high blood pressure did not fully explain the disparities in rates of dementia between different groups of people.
The study found that people with high blood pressure were more likely to develop dementia than those with normal blood pressure, but that high blood pressure did not fully explain the disparities in rates of dementia between different groups of people. While the findings suggest that high blood pressure is a risk factor for dementia, they do not fully explain the disparities in rates of the condition between different groups of people.
The cause of these disparities is likely to be complex and multi-factorial. There are a number of factors that have been linked to an increased risk of dementia, including genetics, lifestyle, and health conditions. The findings of this study add to our understanding of the role that high blood pressure may play in the development of dementia, but further research is needed to understand the full range of factors that contribute to the condition.
High blood pressure is a well-established risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia, but its role in explaining disparities in dementia incidence is less clear. A new study published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, finds that high blood pressure may play a greater role in dementia disparities than previously thought.
The study looked at data from over 6,000 people who were part of the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study. All of the participants were over the age of 45 and free of dementia at the beginning of the study. They were followed for an average of eight years.
During the follow-up period, 1,388 participants developed dementia, including 930 who developed Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers found that, after taking into account other risk factors for dementia, such as age, sex, race, education, and diabetes, people with high blood pressure were 1.5 times more likely to develop any type of dementia and 2.3 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, compared to those with normal blood pressure.
This association was strongest in Black participants, who were nearly four times more likely to develop dementia if they had high blood pressure, compared to those with normal blood pressure.
“Our findings suggest that high blood pressure may explain some of the disparities we see in dementia incidence,” said study author Joshua W. Miller, PhD, of the University of California, Riverside. “This is especially true for Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common type of dementia.”
The study also found that high blood pressure was associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline, even in people who did not develop dementia. This suggests that high blood pressure may be a causal factor in cognitive decline and dementia.
“The link between high blood pressure and cognitive decline is well-established, but this study adds to our understanding by showing that high blood pressure may speed up mental decline even in people who do not go on to develop dementia,” said Miller.
The findings from this study highlight the importance of blood pressure control in reducing the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. “There are effective treatments for high blood pressure, so this is an important modifiable risk factor that we can target to help reduce the burden of dementia,” said Miller.
