Aging-associated diseases

Antihypertensives May Slow Cognitive Decline in Older Adults

Antihypertensive therapies may slow cognitive decline in older adults, according to new research presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension 2019 Scientific Sessions.1

Using data from 10,958 participants in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), the researchers investigated the effect of hypertension on cognitive decline from 2011 to 2015.

Hypertension was defined as a mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) of greater than or equal to 140 mm Hg or a mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of greater than or equal to 90 mm Hg or by antihypertensive prescription.

The researchers used the Telephone Interview of Cognition Status (score range: 0-11) and the immediate and delayed recall of 10 simple nouns (score range: 0-10) to evaluate cognition.

Overall, cognition scores declined significantly from 2011 (11.01) to 2015 (10.24). Participants aged 55 years or older who had hypertension but were unaware of the condition had lower cognition scores (average: -0.57) than their counterparts without hypertension.

Participants taking antihypertensive therapy had an average 0.56-point lower cognitive decline than their counterparts who were not aware of their condition.

Even after adjusting for education, gender, and residency, the results remained similar between the groups.

These results were not seen among younger participants aged 45 to 54 years.

“Hypertension may accelerate cognitive decline over a four-year observational period in elderly Chinese, but this decline is counteracted by antihypertensive treatment,” the researchers concluded. “Efforts to expand medical insurance for hypertension and treatment for the elderly in China may therefore also delay cognition decline in this population.”1

—Amanda Balbi

References:

  1. Rui S, Li C, Lumey LH. Abstract 004: Antihypertensive treatment stops cognition decline in elderly Chinese with hypertension [published online September 4, 2019]. Hypertension. https://doi.org/10.1161/hyp.74.suppl_004.
  2. High blood pressure treatment may slow cognitive decline [press release]. New Orleans, LA: American Heart Association; September 5, 2019. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/high-blood-pressure-treatment-may-slow-cognitive-decline.