Key result
Current blood pressure medication use is linked to ~26% higher dementia risk in older women.
Why the study?
The role of late-life hypertension and its treatment in the development of dementia remains unclear despite known associations with midlife hypertension.
Does hypertension and its treatment affect the risk of incident dementia in older adults?
Cohort (n=13,978)
Does hypertension and its treatment affect the risk of incident dementia in older adults?
Hazard Ratio: 1.26 (95% CI 1.06–1.51)
Late-life hypertension and its treatment may have differential effects on incident dementia risk depending on age and sex, with treated hypertension in older women associated with an increased risk.
Association should not alter BP management in older women; leaves open whether treatment or hypertension drives dementia risk.
Recent studies have highlighted the deleterious role of cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, on the incidence of dementia. Although midlife hypertension is associated with later development of dementia, the role of late-life hypertension remains unclear. We explored the association of hypertension and its treatment with incident dementia in 13978 older (median = 74 years) adults followed from 1981 to 2010 (median = 13 years) and calculated risk estimates using Cox regression analysis in two age groups (<75 and 75+ years) in men and women separately. Dementia status was determined from in-person evaluations, followup questionnaires, hospital data, and death certificates. In the older women, current users of blood pressure medication at baseline had a 26% increased risk of dementia (95% CI 1.06-1.51). In the younger men, those with untreated hypertension and those with past use of blood pressure medication use had about a 30% nonsignificant increased risk of dementia. High blood pressure and its treatment appear to have different effects in men and women and in the old and older.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Annlia Paganini‐Hill (2011) conducted a cohort in Incident dementia (n=13,978). Hypertension and blood pressure medication use vs. No hypertension or no blood pressure medication use was evaluated on Incident dementia (HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.06-1.51). Current use of blood pressure medication at baseline was associated with a 26% increased risk of incident dementia in older women (HR 1.26; 95% CI 1.06-1.51).
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: