People 60 and older with untreated high blood pressure may have an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease compared to both people who have been or are being treated for high blood pressure as well as people without the chronic condition. The new research, a meta-analysis, is published in the August 14, 2024, online issue of Neurology ® , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. These results do not prove that untreated high blood pressure causes Alzheimer's disease, they only show an association.
High blood pressure is a leading cause of stroke and cerebrovascular disease, and yet it can be controlled with medication, reducing a person's risk of these diseases. Taking blood pressure medications has also been found in previous research to reduce a person's risk of dementias overall, but less is known about how blood pressure affects a person's risk of Alzheimer's disease. Our meta-analysis looked at older people and found that not treating blood pressure may indeed increase a person's risk.
" Matthew J. Lennon, MD, PhD, Author of the University of New South Wales, Australia For the meta-analysis, researchers looked at 31,250 people with an average age of 72 who were enrolled in 14 studies that measured cognitive change and dementia diagnosis over time. Participants were from Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Korea, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Spain, Sweden and the United States.
Participants were followed for an average of four ye.