Intensive Blood Pressure Control Reduces Dementia Risk: Study Finds

While blood pressure control is a known preventive measure for cardiovascular disease, definitive evidence linking it to dementia prevention has been limited.

To address this gap, researchers studied 33,995 individuals across 326 villages in rural China. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group or a usual care group. Those in the intervention group received care through a non-physician community healthcare provider-led strategy aimed at achieving systolic blood pressure below 130 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure under 80 mm Hg.

The results were significant: the intervention group saw a 22.0 mm Hg reduction in systolic blood pressure and a 9.3 mm Hg drop in diastolic blood pressure compared to the usual care group. “These findings provide additional motivation for patients with hypertension to reduce their blood pressure—not only to prevent cardiovascular disease, but also to lower their risk of dementia,” said Yingxian Sun, professor at the First Hospital of China Medical University and lead author of the study.

The research team emphasized the need for further studies and the future integration of big data and artificial intelligence to enhance early prediction and individualized dementia prevention strategies.