Treating high blood pressure in your 30s may help prevent dementia in later life
Having high blood pressure in your 30s is associated with worse brain health around the age of 75, according to new research.
Having high blood pressure in your 30s is associated with worse brain health around the age of 75, according to new research.
Researchers compared the MRI imaging of brain scans of older adults who had high blood pressure between the ages of 30 to 40 with older adults who had normal blood pressure.
The data – from 427 participants - found that the high blood pressure group had significantly lower regional brain volumes and worse white matter integrity – both of which are associated with dementia.
Some of these brain changes, such as decreased grey matter volume and frontal cortex volume, were stronger in men. This may be because of the protective benefits of the hormone oestrogen in women, the researchers argue.
Kristen George, an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and one of the study’s authors said: "Treatment for dementia is extremely limited, so identifying modifiable risk and protective factors over the life course is key to reducing disease burden”.
"High blood pressure is an incredibly common and treatable risk factor associated with dementia. This study indicates hypertension status in early adulthood is important for brain health decades later”.