A new US study of 3,000 Americans aged 75 to 96 shows that blood pressure medication reduces the risk of dementia by half. Patients were taking either diuretics or blood pressure medications called angiotensin enzyme inhibitors. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University observed in these patients a decrease in dementia risk, even in those with mild cognitive impairment. The study appeared in the scientific journal Neurology.
We already know that high blood pressure is one of the risk factors for dementia. Some blood pressure medication would be doubly more effective since they could both control blood pressure and limit the risk of developing these diseases.
Controlling hypertension is a major challenge as an exponential increase in dementia is expected in the coming years. Cases of dementia in the French population are expected to rise by 75% between 2010 and 2030 due to longer life expectancy, according to Inserm. The French team that quantified this phenomenon concluded that controlling hypertension in the general population would reduce the number of dementia cases by 2.7% in 2030 among people aged 65 to 85.
Delay dementia
Experiments like the one at Johns Hopkins University provide avenues for research to address this future public health problem. “The observed reduction in the risk of dementia associated with high blood pressure warrants further research,” says Sevil Yasar, professor of medicine in the Department of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology at Johns Hopkins University and author of the study. such work, she adds, could lead to the identification of new pharmacological targets to prevent cognitive decline, and if possible delay the progression of dementias.