The reduction of blood pressure is associated with a lower risk of dementia
Shuttersock / Grinny
Brinking high blood pressure reduces the risk of dementia and cognitive impairment, according to a large study of people in China.
Many studies have linked high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, with a greater risk of developing dementia. Some investigations have also indicated that a side effect of blood pressure treatment may be a lower risk of dementia.
Now, Jiang, at the Southwestern Southwestern Medical Center of the University of Texas in Dallas and his colleagues have directly analyzed the effectiveness of medications that reduce blood pressure on dementia and cognitive deterioration.
They studied 33,995 people in rural China who were 40 years old and more and had hypertension. The participants were divided into one of the two random groups, each with an average age of approximately 63 years.
The first group received, on average, three antihypertensive medications, such as ACE inhibitors, diuretics or calcium channel blockers to aggressively guarantee that its blood pressure was kept low. They also had training in the monitoring of blood pressure at home and in changes in lifestyle that could help maintain low blood pressure, including weight loss and reduction of alcohol and salt intake.
The other set, treated as the control group, obtained the same training and a more common level of treatment for the region, which involves only one medication on average.
In a follow -up appointment after 48 months, the participants were made the blood pressure test and measured to obtain signs of cognitive impairment using standard questnaires.
Concerns about hypertension begin when a person’s systolic pressure exceeds 130 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) or diastolic pressure exceeds 80 mmHg, that is, blood pressure greater than 130/80.
On average, people who recovered many medications had eliminated their blood pressure from 157.0/87.9 to 127.6/72.6 mmHg, while the control group managed to take it from 155.4/87.2 only slightly.
The researchers also found that compared to the control group, 15 percent less people in multiple medications received a diagnosis of study dementia, and 16 percent less had cognitive impairment.
“The findings of this study showed that the reduction of blood pressure is effective in reducing the risk of dementia in patients with uncontrolled hypertension,” says Hey. “This effective proven intervention must be widely adopted and expanded to reduce the global load of dementia.”
“For many years, many people have known that blood pressure is a probable risk factor for dementia and this has provided super convincing evidence of the clinical benefit of drugs for reducing blood pressure,” Seatny Marcum at the University of Washington.
Raj Shah, from the University of Rush in Chicago, says that adding evidence that the treatment of high blood pressure can help avoid dementia is useful, but it is only a piece of dementia puzzle, because influenceing the abilition of the brain.
“We should treat high blood pressure for multiple reasons,” says Shah. “For the longevity and well -being of people, so they can get old healthy over time.”
Marcum also says that to avoid dementia, people should think more widely than only about blood pressure. You say that there are other known risk factors that are linked to a higher risk of dementia, which include smoking, inactivity, obesity, social isolation and loss of closure.
And different factors become more influential in different stages of life. To reduce the risk of dementia, “there must be a holistic approach in the course of his life,” says Shah.
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