Lowering blood pressure cuts risk of mild cognitive impairment, a risk factor for dementia, study finds
- Fewer old people given aggressive treatment to lower blood pressure developed cognitive impairment, or MCI, than those not given such treatment
- However, the study’s outcome on reducing risk of dementia ‘was not definitive’, and the study is being extended to allow more research
Aggressive treatment to lower blood pressure in older people has been shown to cut the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a risk factor for dementia, US researchers have found.
While the findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Jama) did not find any significant impact on the likelihood of developing dementia, experts says the trial offers a glimmer of hope as the world’s population ages and dementia becomes a growing concern.
Dementia, including its most common, form, Alzheimer’s disease, is expected to affect 115 million people worldwide by 2050.
So far, the world’s best scientific minds have not found a way to reliably prevent, cure or treat dementia.
But some research has suggested that high blood pressure – which affects three-quarters of people over 75 – might be a modifiable risk factor.