Controlling high blood pressure in older adults may be one of the \u201cbest bets\u201d for reducing the risk of developing dementia, Australian researchers report.
\u201cGiven population aging and the substantial costs of caring for people with dementia, even a small reduction could have considerable global impact,\u201d said researcher Ruth Peters, an associate professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney and program lead for dementia in the George Institute\u2019s Global Brain Health Initiative.
In the study of more than 28,000 people, her team found strong evidence that lowering blood pressure could cut dementia risk.
Five double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trials were analyzed that included individuals from 20 countries. The trials used different treatments to lower blood pressure. The researchers followed patients until the development of dementia. Patients were an average age of 69 and mid-range follow-up was about four years.
\u201cWe found there was a significant effect of treatment in lowering the odds of dementia associated with a sustained reduction in blood pressure in this older population,\u201d Peters said in a George Institute news release. \u201cOur results imply a broadly linear relationship between blood pressure reduction and lower risk of dementia, regardless of which type of treatment was used.\u201d
Without significant dementia treatment breakthroughs, reducing risks may help. An estimated 50 million people live with dementia worldwide, and the numbers could triple by 2050.
\u201cOur study suggests that using readily available treatments to lower blood pressure is currently one of our \u2018best bets\u2019 to tackle this insidious disease,\u201d Peters said.
Though there may be hesitation about how far to lower blood pressure in older age, Peters said the study showed no evidence of harm in lowering blood pressure for the study participants.
\u201cBut what we still don\u2019t know is whether additional blood pressure-lowering in people who already have it well-controlled or starting treatment earlier in life would reduce the long-term risk of dementia,\u201d she added.
Most previous trials stopped early because of the significant impact of blood pressure-lowering on cardiovascular events, which tend to occur earlier than signs of dementia, Peters said.
\u201cThis work is an important foundation for clinical trials to provide reliable estimates of the benefits and risks of preventative treatments, and how best to apply them across different populations,\u201d said Craig Anderson, director of the Global Brain Health program at the George Institute. The study was published in the European Heart Journal.
By Cara Murez
HealthDay Reporter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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