Having high blood pressure in your thirties increases your risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease by age 70.
- A study shows that high blood pressure in your thirties is associated with poorer brain health around age 70.
- Men, compared to women, seem to be more vulnerable to the adverse effects of high blood pressure on the brain.
- Researchers call for attention to cardiovascular risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia from early adulthood.
To help your brain age well and preserve your cognitive functions well into old age, consider monitoring your blood pressure. Indeed, a new study from the University of California Davis (UC Davis) shows that having hypertension (HTA) in your thirties is associated with an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease at age 70.
This work was published in the scientific journal JAMA Network Open.
Dementia: hypertension at 30 is a risk factor
For this experiment, the researchers reviewed the records of 427 participants from the study Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experiences and that on the healthy aging in African Americans (STAR). Blood pressure was measured twice from when participants were 30 to 40 years old. MRIs were performed between 2017 and 2022. These examinations made it possible to determine the presence or absence of biomarkers of neurodegeneration in the brain and the quality of the white matter.
The results reveal that people who had hypertension in their thirties had significantly lower regional brain volumes and poorer white matter integrity at age 70 compared to those with normal blood pressure. “Both factors are associated with dementia”specify the authors in a communicated published on April 7, 2023.
Negative brain changes were also observed in certain regions such as the decrease in the volume of gray matter and the volume of the frontal cortex. The latter were stronger in men. For the team, these differences may be linked to the protective effects of estrogen before menopause.
High blood pressure: pay attention to your blood pressure to age well
“High blood pressure is an incredibly common and treatable risk factor associated with dementia. This study indicates that high blood pressure status in early adulthood matters for brain health decades later”explained the first author of the study, Kristen M. George.
His colleague Rachel Whitmer felt that the work shows “really the importance of risk factors early in life and that to age well you need to take care of yourself throughout life”, then adding “heart health is brain health”.
We speak of high blood pressure when the systolic pressure is greater than 140 mmHg and/or the dystolic pressure is greater than 90 mmHg. One in three people are affected, but only half know about it, according to theInserm.
