New research suggests that the risk of Alzheimer’s disease may increase with high blood pressure.
A study published in the medical journal Neurology found that people over 60 who have untreated high blood pressure are more likely to develop common types of dementia.
The results do not prove that untreated high blood pressure causes the disease, but they do suggest an association, the American Academy of Neurology said in a press release.
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High blood pressure “is a leading cause of stroke and cerebrovascular disease, but it can be controlled with medication to reduce the risk of these diseases,” study author Matthew J. Lennon, MD, of the University of New South Wales in Australia, said in a statement.
Research has found that people over 60 who have untreated high blood pressure may be at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease. (iStock)
Previous studies have shown that taking blood pressure medications can reduce the risk of dementia, but Lennon said less is known about how blood pressure medications affect the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
“Our meta-analysis looked at older adults and found that untreated blood pressure may actually increase the risk,” he said.
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According to the release, researchers analyzed 31,250 people, with an average age of 72, who participated in a study measuring changes in cognitive function and dementia diagnoses over time.
After four years, 1,415 of them had developed Alzheimer’s disease.
A doctor points to potential evidence of Alzheimer’s disease found on a PET scan at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston on March 30, 2023. (Reuters/Brian Snyder/File Photo)
Research has shown that people with untreated high blood pressure have a 36% higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease compared to people without high blood pressure.
Compared to people with high blood pressure and taking blood pressure medication, the risk increased by 42%.
“This relationship does not change with age, indicating that treating high blood pressure significantly reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, even in people in their 70s and 80s,” Lennon told Fox News Digital in an email.
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“These results suggest that treating age-related hypertension remains an important factor in reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” he added.
The researchers also found no significant risk differences in the effects of blood pressure or medication use across gender or racial groups.
“This is very encouraging because it suggests that the best care for one group may be similar for others,” Lennon said.
“Treatment of age-related hypertension remains an important component in reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.”
Dr. Mark Siegel, professor of medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center and senior medical analyst at Fox News, responded to these findings in a conversation with Fox News Digital.
Alzheimer’s disease “involves neuroinflammation and plaque formation, which inhibits neurotransmission,” said Siegel, who was not involved in the study.
“We have long known that high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar, as well as obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption, are linked to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and vascular dementia,” a doctor told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
The doctor added: “High blood pressure can hasten this progression by restricting the supply of oxygen and blood to nerve cells in some areas of the brain, especially the frontal lobe.”
Dr. Elizabeth Landsberg, a geriatrics physician and author in California who was not involved in the study, said she wasn’t surprised by the findings.
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“We’ve long known that high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar, as well as obesity, smoking and alcohol consumption, are linked to an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and vascular dementia,” she told Fox News Digital.
“The new study also found a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease (an amyloid protein that deposits in the brain) among people receiving treatment for high blood pressure.”
Potential limitations of the study
Lennon noted that the researchers used data from 14 different longitudinal studies conducted around the world, so there may be some variation in the definitions of dementia and high blood pressure.
“Most studies did not also report mortality data, so our analysis does not take into account the competing risks of dementia and death,” the researchers told Fox News Digital.
“These results suggest that treating age-related hypertension remains an important factor in reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” the researchers said. (iStock)
Lennon added that factors such as socioeconomic status, health literacy, access to medications, poorly managed medical conditions, depression and other psychiatric disorders may also confound the association between hypertension status and dementia risk.
“Because this study will be conducted over a long period of time, various external factors may alter the results and make them less reliable,” Landsverk said.
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High blood pressure is extremely common, affecting two-thirds of people over 65 and about 1.3 billion people worldwide, Lennon noted.
“In most cases it’s clinically silent and symptoms don’t appear until a heart attack, stroke or, as we’ve now found, dementia develops,” Lennon said.
Hypertension is very common, affecting two-thirds of people over 65 years of age and approximately 1.3 billion people worldwide. (iStock)
He noted that only 28 percent of people with hypertension have their blood pressure properly controlled.
“While you may not feel the effects of high blood pressure right away, it’s really important to monitor and control it closely if you want to maximise your chances of living a longer, happier, healthier life,” Lennon added.
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For people who are obese, losing weight is the quickest way to reduce risk factors, Landsverk added.
“In general, the healthiest thing to do is adopt a plant-based diet and get 30 minutes of exercise each day, which reduces your risk of heart attack, stroke, dementia and now Alzheimer’s by as much as 40 percent,” she advised.
