Reducing your blood pressure could significantly lower your risk of dementia and cognitive impairment, a major new study has found.
According to clinical trial results published in the journal Nature Medicine, lowering your blood pressure could cut down one’s risk of developing cognitive impairment by 16 per cent and dementia by 15 per cent.
The trial included nearly 34,000 people over 40 years of age in rural China who had untreated hypertension. While residents of 163 villages received their regular care, locals of the other 163 villages received therapy for hypertension through medication and lifestyle modifications.
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A team of researchers, including those from The University of Texas in the U.S., observed that over a four-year follow-up period, individuals receiving treatment for hypertension saw their systolic blood pressure drop by 22 mm Hg and their diastolic pressure decrease by 9.3 mm Hg. Further, at the end of the four-year follow-up, “anti-hypertensive treatment was associated with a 15 per cent reduction in dementia events,” the authors wrote. Further work revealed this group had a 16% lower risk of cognitive impairment without dementia.
Dementia is a progressive disorder marked by the shrinking of brain cells, leading to a gradual decline in memory and cognitive function. According to the World Health Organization, it currently impacts over 57 million people worldwide.
Reacting to the study, Julia Dudley, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research U.K., said, “This large trial of over 33,000 people in rural China provides further evidence that addressing high blood pressure could be one way to reduce dementia risk.” The study is consistent with a Lancet Commission report, released in August 2024, that newly added ‘high cholesterol’ to a list of risk factors for dementia, added Dudley, not involved with the study.
