Elevated BP Linked to Brain Shrinkage, Even in Early Life

Elevated blood pressure (BP) could be associated with a loss of brain volume in adults in their 20s and 30s, according to the results of a recent study.

In order to examine the effects of elevated BP on gray matter volume (GMV) changes in young adults without diagnosed hypertension (systolic BP [SBP]/diastolic BP [DBP] ≥140/90 mm Hg), researchers conducted a study involving 423 healthy adults from 4 previous unpublished cross-sectional studies conducted in Leipzig, Germany.

They used voxel-based morphometry on each of the studies then combined the results in image-based meta-analyses. The participants were grouped into 1 of 4 categories based on their resting blood pressure levels: (1) SBP <120 and DBP <80 mm Hg, (2) SBP 120–129 or DBP 80–84 mm Hg, (3) SBP 130–139 or DBP 85–89 mm Hg, (4) SBP ≥140 or DBP ≥90 mm Hg.

Overall, they found that those with elevated blood pressure were more likely to have lower GMV in areas including the frontal and parietal lobes, the hippocampus, amygdala, and thalamus.

“BP ≥120/80 mm Hg was associated with lower GMV in regions that have previously been related to GM decline in older individuals with manifest hypertension,” the researchers concluded.

“Our study shows that BP-associated GM alterations emerge continuously across the range of BP and earlier in adulthood than previously assumed. This suggests that treating hypertension or maintaining lower BP in early adulthood might be essential for preventing the pathophysiologic cascade of asymptomatic cerebrovascular disease to symptomatic end-organ damage, such as stroke or dementia.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Schaare HL, Masouleh SK, Beyer F, et al. Association of peripheral blood pressure with gray matter volume in 19- to 40-year-old adults [published online January 23, 2019]. Neurology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000006947.