Lowering blood pressure with antihypertensive treatment may reduce risk for incident dementia in older adults with a history of hypertension<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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WEDNESDAY, Nov. 2, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Antihypertensive treatment is associated with a reduced risk for dementia, according to an individual patient data meta-analysis from randomized clinical trials published online Oct. 25 in the European Heart Journal<\/em>.<\/p>\n Ruth Peters, Ph.D., from Neuroscience Research Australia in Sydney, and colleagues conducted a pooled individual participant data analysis of five randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trials to better define the effects of blood pressure (BP)-lowering treatment for prevention of dementia. The contributions of trial medication and changes in systolic and diastolic BP to the risk for dementia were quantified in a mediation analysis. A total of 28,008 individuals recruited from 20 countries were included.<\/p>\n There were 861 cases of incident dementia during a median follow-up of 4.3 years. The researchers found that the adjusted odds ratio was 0.87 for antihypertensive treatment reducing the risk for incident dementia, with a mean BP lowering of 10\/4 mm Hg. Similar results were seen in multinomial regression when taking account of death as a competing risk. No effect modification was seen by age or sex. In a mediation analysis, the greater reduction in BP in the actively treated group was associated with a greater decrease in the risk for dementia.<\/p>\n “Our study provides the highest grade of available evidence to show that blood pressure lowering treatment over several years reduces the risk of dementia,” Peters said in a statement. “But what we still don’t know is whether additional blood pressure lowering in people who already have it well-controlled or starting treatment earlier in life would reduce the long-term risk of dementia.”<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n