Investigators examined long-term data from four different countries and found that treating high blood pressure with medication not only improves older adults’ cardiovascular health, but also can reduce their risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
The global team of scientists, coordinated by the NIA Intramural Research Program, cross-referenced data from six large, longitudinal studies that tracked the health of over 31,000 adults over age 55 across several years of follow-up. They found that treating high blood pressure — no matter with which type of antihypertensive drug — reduced dementia risk by 12% and the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 16%.
Read more about this and other studies researching the relationship of high blood pressure and dementia on the NIA website.
Last Updated on April 29, 2020
