High blood pressure might increase risk of Alzheimer's disease

Untreated high blood pressure in your 60s could raise your risk for Alzheimer's disease later, new research shows.

The good news: Simple steps can ease hypertension, researchers said.

The global study found that "taking blood pressure medications was associated with decreased risk of Alzheimer's disease throughout later life," said study lead author Dr. Matthew Lennon , of the University of New South Wales in Australia. "These results suggest that treating high blood pressure as a person ages continues to be a crucial factor in reducing their risk of Alzheimer's disease."

The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Neurology .

As Lennon explained in a journal news release, "taking blood pressure medications has also been found in previous research to reduce a person's risk of dementias overall, but less is known about how blood pressure affects a person's risk of Alzheimer's disease."

Trying to answer that question, his team conducted a "meta-analysis" of data on more than 31,000 people who had been in 14 studies that measured cognitive change and dementia diagnosis over time.

Participants came from the United States, but also from a large number of diverse nationalities around the world.

A total of 1,415 cases of Alzheimer's disease were diagnosed among the group over an average follow-up of four years.

Overall, 9% of participants were found to have untreated high blood pressure, the researchers said. Another "51% were taking blood pressure medications, 36% did not have high blood pressure and 4% were noted as uncertain," according to the news release.

Folks with untreated high blood pressure had a 36% higher risk of going on to get Alzheimer's, Lennon's team found, compared to folks with healthy blood pressure. And they had a 42% higher risk for Alzheimer's compared to folks who were already on a blood pressure medication.

"High blood pressure is a leading cause of stroke and cerebrovascular disease, and yet it can be controlled with medication, reducing a person's risk of these diseases," Lennon noted.

The study was designed to show an association between hypertension and dementia risk, so it could not prove cause-and-effect.

More information

Find out more about controlling high blood pressure at the American Heart Association .

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