Researchers from IIS Aragón participate in an international work that links the importance of treating hypertension in the elderly to preventing dementia

The Spanish researchers belong to the GIIS030 Liaison Psychiatry Group of the Aragón Health Research Institute, the University of Zaragoza, the Lozano Blesa University Clinical Hospital and the CIBERSAM of the Carlos III Health Institute

This pioneering study included a sample of 34.519 individuals over 60 years of age, in 15 different countries, with an average age of 72 years. Among the most notable conclusions: untreated hypertensive patients had a 5% higher risk of developing dementia, compared to healthy individuals; and 42% more compared to those treated with anti-hypertension medications

An international job, with the participation of Aragonese patients and researchers (Antonio Lobo, Concepción De la Cámara, Elena Lobo-Escolar), has demonstrated the high link between untreated hypertension and a higher risk of dementia in people over 60 years of age.

High blood pressure is the most common risk factor for dementia (including the most common dementia, Alzheimer's disease). The risk of developing dementia in adults who suffer from hypertension in middle age is well documented; On the contrary, it has been a highly controversial issue that this risk also exists in elderly people.. An international study, which includes data from the ZARADEMP Project carried out in Zaragoza, and which was published this September in the influential journal JAMA Network Open, of the American Medical Association, has attempted to clarify the controversy.

It has been documented that Untreated hypertensive patients had a 42% increased risk of developing dementia, compared to healthy individuals; and a 26% increase compared to those treated with anti-hypertension medications. Furthermore, treated hypertensive patients, compared to healthy individuals, did not have an increased risk of developing dementia. On the other hand, it was possible to document that there was no interaction with the age of the subjects, sex or racial group.

To this end, data from 17 jobs in 15 different countries, on 5 continents, who had carried out “longitudinal” studies, monitoring cohorts of representative samples of the general population, as in the case of Zaragoza. A total of of 34.519 individuals over 60 years of age, with an average age of 72 years at entry into the study. Data on their medical and mental health history was collected from all participants, and they underwent extensive examinations that included taking their blood pressure and assessing their cognitive function. Next, a “longitudinal” follow-up was carried out with an average duration of 4 years, with serial examinations in consecutive “waves”. The data meta-analysis incorporated the most modern statistical methods, including “sensitivity analysis” and several models for adjusting “confounding” variables.

It has been concluded that this study, in combination with the results of some previous analyses, provides the most solid data to date supporting the use of anti-hypertension medications in people with hypertension at older ages from 60 years of age. The study is particularly relevant given the high frequency in the general population of both hypertension and dementia, and may be part of current efforts to prevent especially Alzheimer's disease.

The work has been coordinated by Prof. Matthew J. Lennon, from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. The Spanish researchers belong to the Departments of Psychiatry and Preventive Medicine and Public Health of the University of Zaragoza, the University Clinical Hospital, the Aragón Health Research Institute and the CIBERSAM of the Carlos III Health Institute.

Article citation: Use of Antihypertensives, Blood Pressure, and Estimated Risk of Dementia in Late Life