Late Onset Hypertension in Elderly May Prevent Dementia

Late onset hypertension may help protect people age 90 and older from developing dementia, according to recent research.

Note: Evidence suggests that hypertension during midlife may increase risk for Alzheimer’s and other dementia.

Investigators examined the relationship between dementia risk, age of onset hypertension, and blood pressure measurements in 625 individuals 90 years and older as part of The 90+ Study. Participants were followed every 6 months for up to 10 years.
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Participants with a hypertension onset between 80-89 years of age yielded a lower risk of manifesting dementia than individuals without a history of hypertension. Further, participants with a hypertension onset age of 90 years or older had an even lower dementia risk.

People with blood pressure levels in the hypertensive range had a significantly lower risk of developing dementia as compared to individuals with blood pressure in the normal range, regardless of whether medications were used to treat hypertension.

“We believe that in the oldest-old having high blood pressure may be necessary to maintain adequate blood flow and oxygenation to the brain,” said Maria Corrada, MS, ScD, lead author and associate adjunct professor of neurology at the University of California Irvine.

 “In relation to cognitive health, what is a normal blood pressure for the oldest-old may be different from younger elderly. Age matters—what is adequate in terms of managing hypertension in younger elderly may not be the same in the very elderly,” she said.

The complete study was presented at the 2014 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

-Michelle Canales

Reference:
Alzheimer’s Association. Potential Alzheimer’s disease risk factors and risk reduction strategies become clearer [press release]. July 14, 2014. www.alz.org/aaic/releases_2014/mon-830am-potential-risk-factors.asp. Accessed July15, 2014.