Midlife Hypertension Could Raise Risk of Dementia

High blood pressure in midlife is associated with increased risk of developing dementia later in life in women, but not in men, according to the results of a recent study.

For their study, the researchers evaluated 5646 individuals who had clinical examinations and health survey data taken from 1964 to 1973 and 1978 to 1985. They used hypertension categories and changes in hypertension categories to predict dementia incidence from January 1, 1996 to September 30, 2015.
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Overall, 532 cases of dementia were diagnosed during the study period. While early adulthood hypertension was not linked to dementia rish, mid-adulthood hypertension was associated with a 65% greater dementia risk among women, but not in men. Hypertension onset in mid-adulthood predicted a 73% higher risk of dementia in women compared with those without hypertension.

“Though midlife hypertension was more common in men, it was only associated with dementia risk in women. Sex differences in the timing of dementia risk factors have important implications for brain health and hypertension management.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Gilsanz P, Mayeda ER, Glymour MM, et al. Female sex, early-onset hypertension, and risk of dementia [published online October 4, 2017]. Neurology. doi: http:/​/​dx.​doi.​org/​10.​1212/​WNL.​0000000000004602.