New Research Links Blood Pressure Intervention to Lower Dementia Risks - Video

A large-scale international study has found that people who receive intensive support to manage high blood pressure are significantly less likely to develop dementia. The research, published in Nature Medicine, showed that participants given tailored medication, lifestyle coaching, and home monitoring tools had a 15% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those receiving standard care.

Led by researchers from China and the United States, the study involved nearly 34,000 individuals over the age of 40 with uncontrolled hypertension, living in 326 rural Chinese villages. Half of these villages were randomly assigned to receive intensive blood pressure management through community healthcare providers, often referred to as “village doctors.” This group of 17,407 participants received free or low-cost antihypertensive medication tailored to their needs, regular health coaching, lifestyle interventions such as salt reduction and weight loss, and equipment for home monitoring.

The remaining 16,588 participants continued with their usual care routines, which may have included medications or lifestyle advice but did not offer consistent, structured support or access to home monitoring tools.

After four years, the researchers recorded 668 cases of dementia in the intensive management group versus 734 in the usual care group, amounting to a 15% reduced risk. There was also a 16% reduction in the risk of cognitive impairment without dementia in the intervention group. Although cognitive function at the start of the trial wasn’t assessed, researchers noted that both groups were comparable at baseline.

Prof Tara Spires-Jones, the director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, said the research “provides further strong evidence supporting the importance of managing blood pressure and other cardiovascular risks to protect the brain during ageing”.

But, she added: “It is important to note that treating high blood pressure was not a foolproof guarantee as some people receiving treatment still developed dementia.”

Reference: He, J., Zhao, C., Zhong, S. et al. Blood pressure reduction and all-cause dementia in people with uncontrolled hypertension: an open-label, blinded-endpoint, cluster-randomized trial. Nat Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03616-8